Trucking firm found responsible for suffocation deaths

The Pingdingshan Emergency Management Bureau in Henan province has released its investigative report on an incident in which eight women suffocated to death while being transported in a refrigerated truck in June.

The investigation concluded that the deaths were a result of the trucking company's failure to fulfill its responsibilities.

There was a lack of effective management of affiliated vehicles, and drivers illegally and improperly used the refrigerated trucks to transport both people and goods, according to the report, which was released recently.

Local departments were found negligent in professional supervision and industry management, and local governments did not adequately perform their safety leadership responsibilities, it said.

At around 10 pm on June 15, the driver of a light refrigerated truck stopped at a fuel station near Yexian county of Pingdingshan, and upon discovering that the passengers were in trouble, immediately dialed 120 for emergency assistance. By 3 am the next morning, all eight passengers were confirmed dead.

The report indicated that the driver of the refrigerated truck had poor safety and legal awareness. He had allowed eight female workers to ride in the truck, which carried packaged beef with dry ice. The dry ice sublimated into carbon dioxide gas, which rapidly filled the confined space inside the truck. This, in turn, led to a rapid decrease in oxygen to dangerous levels.

The eight workers were trapped in the airtight compartment for 17 minutes, resulting in asphyxiation and death from oxygen deprivation.