Abu Dhabi Police rescue boy trapped in vehicle
abu dhabi — The Abu Dhabi Police rescued a young boy who was trapped inside a vehicle on Tuesday.
The police acted swiftly when the central operations command received a call at 5.47pm on Tuesday about a young boy who was trapped inside a vehicle in Al Bateen area of Abu Dhabi.
Civil defence emergency teams rushed to the scene, along with officers from the Abu Dhabi Police criminal patrols department, who rescued the Arab boy.
Brigadier-General Mohammad Mayouf Al Ketbi, director-general of the Civil Defence Department in Abu Dhabi, warned parents and drivers to ensure the safety of their children. He stressed that there are great dangers in leaving children locked inside the vehicles.
He added that negligence of parents can lead to devastating outcomes, including the suffocation of the child due to the carbon dioxide inside the car, as well as some leakage of toxic gases.
Brigadier-General Al Ketbi also said parents often allow children to play with the keys, which results in the closure of the vehicle by remote control.
He urged parents to comply with the requirements of public safety and to ensure they do not put their children’s lives at risk.
In September last year, a six yearold girl tragically died of suffocation in Abu Dhabi after being locked inside the vehicle for six hours.
Moreover, in June 2017, two Emirati sisters died inside their father’s vehicle in Ajman, due to suffocation.
Dr Deepti Chaturvedi, specialist — paediatrics, Burjeel Hospital, told Khaleej Times that locked cars are a death trap for children, and it is the parents’ responsibility to ensure the safety of their children.
“One has to be very careful about leaving children alone inside the vehicle, not even one minute can be regarded as safe.”
Dr Chaturvedi pointed out that the child’s body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult, thus resulting in a heatstroke and ultimately suffocation, if locked inside the car. She stressed that children’s ability to cool down is also lower than adults.
Moreover, leaving the AC on while children are left inside a stationary vehicle is also dangerous, due to the small emissions of toxic gases that could leak and enter the cabin.
“Kids may also put the car in motion, which is not only a danger to them, but also to the public,” said Dr Chaturvedi.