Murree Incident – Automotive Industry Perspective – EV’s would have saved lives ?

Incident

Murree is a small town in Rawalpindi District of Pakistan. It is a weekend Gateway less than 2 hours journey from the Capital town of Islamabad. Murree is famous for its scenic beauty and snowfall.

On 8th Jan 2022, thousands of tourists headed towards the hill station of Murree to celebrate the weekend got struck due to heavy snowfall and traffic jams. More than 1000 vehicles got struck in the chilling weather. As per media reports 23 people died including 9 children.

Reason

Though most of the media reports mention that the tourists died due to freezing in their cars, there is no official word yet about the reason of deaths. It is still being debated whether the deaths were due to cold weather or asphyxiation due to inhalation of Carbon Monoxide ( CO)

All internal combustion engine (ICE) cars emit Carbon Monoxide, though with the advancement of technology this has been reduced significantly. The tailpipe helps to get rid of all gases including CO. If the tailpipe is clogged by ice or snow, the exhaust fumes have nowhere to go. They will be rerouted into the vehicle which is a potential health hazard

Carbon Monoxide poisoning is the most common type of fatal air poisoning in many countries. Carbon Monoxide is colorless, odorless and tasteless but highly toxic. It combines with hemoglobin to produce carboxyhemoglobin, which blocks the transport of oxygen. At concentrations above 1000ppm it is considered immediately dangerous and is the most immediate health hazard from running engines in a poorly ventilated space.

Other Tragedies involving CO

Every year we hear such incidences of deaths due to Carbon Monoxide poisoning. In 2019 alone 37 people in India died due to CO poisoning according to a report. It is estimated that more than 400 people in US die every year due to this.

EV’s would have saved lives?

If all the vehicles in Murree were Electric Vehicles, could all 23 lives be saved then ?

The answer is probably yes. If the deaths of all the tourists of Murree was due to CO poisoning, then yes EV is the answer. Since electric Vehicles do not emit any gas, there is no exhaust.

Note – The article is only from Auto Industry perspective. So there is no mention about other issues of the incidence such as lack of weather update to tourists,?government efforts for rescue operations or the role of local people for the rescue.