Uttar Pradesh: 7 and 8 year old kids die of asphyxia due to coal fire in Lakhimpur Kheri

Representational Picture/iStock

Two children were killed and their parents hospitalised in Lekhimpur Kheri due to asphyxia caused by a coal fire lit in their room to beat the cold while they slept, police here said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred in Mailani town of Lekhimpur Kheri on Monday night, they said, adding that the room had no ventilation.

The victims were identified as Ramesh Vishwakarma, his wife Renu, daughter Anshika (8), and son Krishna (7).

Ramesh's sister-in-law Uma Devi knocked on his door Tuesday morning but got no response, following which the door was broken down and all four were found unconscious, police officials said.

They were rushed to the Mailani health centre in Lekhimpur Kheri, where Anshika and Krishna were declared dead, while Ramesh and Renu were taken to the Kheri district hospital. Mailani police station in-charge Pankaj Tripathi said the bodies were sent for a post-mortem examination.

In a separate incident, a couple in Aunchha town of this Uttar Pradesh district have lost their six-month-old twin girls in an incident of fire, police said on Tuesday.

Riddhi and Siddhi, daughters of Rajni and Gaurav, were sleeping in a room on the first floor of their house on Monday evening and a fire was lit in an earthen pot to keep the room warm, Superintendent of Police (SP) Vinod Kumar said.

Rajni had gone to the ground floor for some household work when the cot on which the girls were sleeping caught fire, he said, adding that Rajni raised an alarm and, along with neighbours, ran to rescue her daughter.

The neighbours and police first took the girls to the Mainpuri district hospital, which referred them to the Saifai Medical College, where doctors declared them dead, the SP said.

Meanwhile, two men were killed and one seriously injured when their motorcycle collided with a truck in the Musafirkhana area of this Uttar Pradesh district, police said on Tuesday.

Brothers Ram Samuj Maurya (65) and Tung Nath Maurya (60) of Kanjas village had gone to the district headquarters Gauriganj with their lawyer -- Pankaj Kumar of Sultanpur -- in connection with a case, they said.

Late on Monday, when the three were returning on their motorcycle, it was hit by a truck coming from the opposite direction near the Nagesarganj underpass, the police said.

The injured riders were taken to the community health centre where the doctors declared the siblings dead while Kumar was referred to the district hospital, they added.

Musafirkhana SHO Vinod Kumar Singh said the bodies have been sent for post-mortem and efforts are underway to nab the truck driver, who fled the scene with his vehicle, using CCTV camera footage. (With inputs from agencies)