Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

The CO trouble

The article "When water & air conspire to kill" (Oct. 31) provided invaluable information. I wonder how many motorists would have been aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide, waiting to strike them silently.

Considering that almost all motorists face the risk of getting stranded in their cars during the rains, I urge car manufacturers to carry a special illustrative section in their manuals highlighting the potential dangers their customers could possibly encounter in different situations and explain the precautions to be taken.

A. Salam Sulaiman,
Chennai

* * *

A similar incident took place in Mumbai in 2005. It also involved three occupants, the road was flooded, and the aircon was on.

One of them called home saying they were stranded. An hour later, calls to all three cellphones remained unanswered suggesting whatever happened, happened very quickly without the victims realising the danger. The advice to keep the windows lowered is extremely relevant.

V. Anand,
Coimbatore

* * *

The report brought back memories of an incident that happened 10 years ago. I am a general surgeon by profession. When I was halfway through an operation, my assistant fell unconscious followed by two nurses. I too felt drowsy and slowly fell on the floor. The theatre assistant who was standing outside came in and saw all of us in an unconscious state. He switched off the portable generator, which was on because of power failure.

All of us had fainted due to carbon monoxide that was emitted from the exhaust pipe in the generator. I request all those who use generators to keep the unit in open space.

C. Ashok Kumar,
Mannargudi, T.N.

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