A vehicle is stranded on a flooded street following heavy rains in the UAE. Photo used for illustrative purpose.

Mahmoud Muhsen, Staff Reporter

Sharjah Police announced that two Asian women died of suffocation on Tuesday evening after inhaling carbon monoxide gas leaking from their private vehicle when traffic stopped due to the huge puddles of water on streets.

Major General Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, revealed that the operations room received a report last Tuesday evening stating that the National Ambulance could not transport two Asian women as their vehicle was spotted on Al Ittihad Street towards the Emirate of Sharjah. Police patrols rushed to the scene to transport the two women to the hospital, he added.

Al Shamsi explained that the vehicle, which had to stop due to the huge puddles of water on Al Ittihad Street, was heading from Dubai to Sharjah, with four people on board: two men and two women. The two men got out of the vehicle to search for ways to move the vehicle and get out of the street, while the two women remained inside the vehicle with the air conditioner on and all the windows closed, he said.

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As soon as the two men returned, they found the two women in a state of unconsciousness and had to call the police after the National Ambulance failed to reach the vehicle, he added.

The police patrols managed to reach the site and transport the two women to Al Qasimi Hospital at approximately 10pm for the necessary medical treatment, he said.

The hospital announced the death of the two women and they were transferred to the forensic laboratory to determine the causes of death. The forensic report revealed that the two women died after inhaling a large amount of toxic carbon monoxide gas when they remained inside the vehicle for a long period without ventilation.

Al Shamsi expressed Sharjah Police’s sincere condolences to the family of the two victims and their regret over the occurrence of the accident. He stressed again the necessity for the public to abide by the instructions issued by the National Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Authority to remain at home and not to go out except in cases of extreme necessity.