India: Five family members found dead in Uttar Pradesh's Amroha; investigation underway

As many as five members of a family died due to a suspected case of asphyxiation in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Monday (Jan 9) night. The incident took place inAllipur Bhud village of Amroha districtafter smoke emitting from an ‘angeethi’ or coal brazier, suffocated the family members while they were sleeping.

According to police reports, the seven people did not exit the house after Monday night, leading to suspicion amongst the villagers. Around Tuesday evening, the villagers took matters into their own hands and broke open the door, only to find the seven family members lying unconscious.

While five succumbed to the smoke, two others were rushed to the hospital.

"Prima facie the cause of death could be due to lack of oxygen because these people had burnt a coal brazier in their room," the police said.

Reports indicate that the house belonged to oneRaheezuddin whose three children and two children of his relatives died in the accident. They have been identified asSonam (19), Waris (17), Mehak (16), Zaid (15), and Mahir (12). Meanwhile,Raheezuddin's wife and brother are said to be the ones in critical condition currently.

Investigation underway

Superintendent of Police Kunwar Anupam Singh, alongside heavy police force and administrative officials, arrived on the scene and started an investigation into the matter to rule out foul play.

Experts say that burning ofcoal braziers releases harmful gases such ascarbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide among others. If they are burned in a closed surrounding, such as a room, without much ventilation, the continuous discharge of the gases reduces oxygen in the room.

In the case of the family, it appears that the room was closed and prolonged exposure to the gases led to their death.

Notably, this is not the first instance when asphyxiation has led to the death of family members in the state. Earlier this week, two people died in theHisar cantonment area afterlighting a fire in a room to beat the cold.

According to the police, the deceased have beenidentified as Travez Mohammad (31) and Shiv Dhani (29) who worked ascrane operators at the Satrod railway station in Hisar.

(With inputs from agencies)