Three men die from carbon monoxide poisoning at Sharjah car polishing shop

Three men have died after inhaling carbon monoxide fumes at a car polishing shop where they worked in Sharjah.

Emergency crews were alerted after the men, two Bangladeshis and one Egyptian, all in their 30s, were found unconscious at their workplace in the Abu Shaghara area.

Officers from Sharjah Police Criminal Investigations Department and ambulances were dispatched but the men were found to be dead at the scene.

Sharjah's general prosecutor requested that the bodies be transferred to the emirate's forensics laboratory for autopsy, reported Al Ittihad, the Arabic language sister paper of The National.

The case has been transferred to the Abu Shaghara police station where officers are questioning the owners and those in charge of the shop to try to establish the circumstances surrounding the men’s deaths.

Carbon monoxide is a colourless and odourless gas that can lead to sudden death. It is present in fumes from car and lorry engines, small fuel burners and wood and coal cookers as well as heating equipment and gas installations.

Those who inhale it can suffer headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain and confusion. Inhalation of large quantities may cause loss of consciousness or sudden death.