COIMBATORE: Poisonous gas that allegedly leaked from a car’s air conditioning system has led to the death of a 35-year-old man here on Friday.
The victim, S Rajan, was resting in a parked car and had switched on the AC when the freak mishap took place. A resident of Kallimadai in Singanallur, Rajan worked as a driver with Jeyakumar, a mill owner.
“On Friday afternoon, Rajan had taken the Toyota Qualis to the workshop at Nanjappa Nagar at Singanallur to repair its bumpers. The mechanic told him that it would take time to attend to his car, and therefore he parked the car nearby and took a nap at around 10.30 am,” said police.
Three hours later, the car owner Jeyakumar, who was residing nearby, went to check on the car. On seeing Jeyakumar unconscious, he rushed him to CMCH where the doctors declared him dead.
After conducting preliminary tests, the forensic doctors suspect that Rajan had inhaled poisonous gases that had caused the death.
“Sometimes, due to leakage, gases like carbon monoxide emitted from the engine gets into the car. Alternately, the AC might also leak deadly gases like trichlorotrifluoroethane, which is used as a cooling agent. Even if a person is exposed to theses gases for a few minutes, it will turn deadly,” says Dr Jaising, Assistant Professor, Forensic Medicine, Coimbatore Medical College.
The Singanallur police have registered a case.