4 die of suffocation in Jharkhand's Hazaribag

Hazaribag, Jharkhand: Four persons, including a teenager, died of suffocation after they lit charcoal in their room to get respite from severe cold in Jharkhand’s Sirshi village, police said on Thursday.

The deceased were identified as Rahul Kumar (20), Akhilesh Kumar (21), Prince Kumar (20) and Armaan Ali (19), a senior police officer said.

All of them hailed from Buxar district of Bihar, and were pursuing a computer course at an institute in Sirshi, he said.

They had lit charcoal in their rented accommodation on Wednesday to beat the cold, and prima facie, the deaths occurred due to suffocation after inhaling the smoke, Deputy SP (HQ) Rajiv Kumar said.

A cold wave has been sweeping parts of the state, including Hazaribag, since the last 10 days, the Met Department said.

When the youths did not respond on Thursday morning, locals broke open the door and found them lying motionless, police said.

The bodies were sent for post-mortem examination, and family members of the deceased have been informed, they added.