Smoke from coal brazier kills 5 family members in sleep
Five children of a family were found dead in the Amroha district of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday in a suspected case of asphyxiation, police said. Two others were taken to a hospital, where their condition was said to be critical. According to a preliminary investigation, the cause of death was likely to be a lack of oxygen, as the family of seven had burned a coal brazier (angithi) in their room.
Neighbors alerted police
According to NDTV, the house belonged to Raheezuddin. His brother, wife, three kids, and two children of his relatives were present at the time of the incident. Since none of the family members had left the house since Monday night, the neighbors broke open the door after getting no response. All seven were taken to the hospital, where Sonam (19), Waris (17), Mehak (16), Zaid (15), and Mahir (12) were declared dead.
2 in critical condition
Raheezuddin's wife and brother are said to be critical and are under treatment at a hospital. A heavy police force, including Superintendent of Police Kunwar Anupam Singh, and administrative officials reached the spot and started a probe into the matter. Further investigation is underway, police said.
Similar incident took place in Karnataka
Using coal for heat in an enclosed space can be dangerous, as it releases toxic gases like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. When a room is sealed off, the oxygen flow is reduced, leading to suffocation. Long-term exposure to these gases can be fatal. A similar incident took place in Doddaballapura city, Karnataka, in September last year, where a family of four died in their sleep due to suffocation from burning charcoal in their room.
