Dharwad, 11 Jan

A hotel worker has died of suffocation after inhaling smoke from burnt charcoal while six others fell seriously ill in Dharward district.  The incident took place in their home, which falls under the Vidyagiri Police Station limits, late on Friday, and the deceased succumbed late on Saturday.

All the seven were of Nepali origin.

The deceased is Bibek. The six workers were Naresh, 45; Nitesh, 18; Dikesh, 40; Sudhan, 30; Kumar, 50; and Lakshman, 30.

They were rushed to the Dharwad District Hospital on Saturday. Three of them are in a critical condition and are currently admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital.

The workers were residing in a house in Sai Darshini Layout and all of them were employed at a hotel named ‘Ching’s Chow’ in Dharwad, where they prepared and sold momos and other food items.

According to police, on the night the incident, the workers reportedly used a charcoal stove to barbecue chicken. Smoke generated from the charcoal stove and soon filled the room. As the windows were closed, it did not go out and the workers soon found it difficult to breathe.

“The smoke must have increased after we fell asleep. Since the windows were also closed, none of us realised the danger while sleeping, and we became unconscious,” said Dinesh, one of the affected Nepalese workers.

The tragedy came to light the following morning when the hotel owner grew suspicious after the workers failed to report for duty. On visiting their residence, he found one worker dead and the others unconscious. He soon informed the police were immediately informed.

Bibek was also scheduled to go on a visit to his native place the next day.

Hubballi–Dharwad Police Commissioner N Shashikumar, said: “Prima facie, the workers suffered from suffocation caused by inhalation of smoke from the charcoal stove. We are conducting a thorough investigation into the matter.”

The police registered a case in connection with the incident.