Chhattisgarh family burns coal stove in room at night, 9 fall ill of asphyxiation

Nirmala Tandi's family members and relatives fell ill from asphyxiation after they slept leaving the coal stove burning inside their room to beat cold at night. Their neighbours took them to the hospital.

Korba (Chattisgarh):Nearly nine members of a house fell ill from asphyxiation after they burnt coal stove inside their room overnight to beat the cold.

The incident occurred in New Railway Colony under the jurisdiction of Kusmunda police station area. The family members were shifted to a nearby hospital where doctors stated their condition to be stable.

Many relatives had come to the house of Nirmala Tandi, a resident of Kusmunda to celebrate Christmas. They kept the coal stove lit inside their room at night to beat the cold. The smoke emitted from the coal stove caused them suffocation and they fell ill.

The family woke up after feeling uncomfortable and raised an alarm thereby drawing the attention of their neighbours. When the neighbours entered the house, they found the family having difficulty in breathing. The neighbours immediately rushed them to Korba Medical College.

Doctors said the nine members complained of breathing problem, headache and severe burning sensation in the eyes. They were given oxygen therapy and fortunately all are stable now, a doctor said.

According to Kusmunda police station officer, people of the area often tend to light coal stove at night during winters as coal is readily available here due to the nearby coal mine.

Doctors said that burning coal in a closed room leads to the production of carbon dioxide which gets mixed with the haemoglobin of the blood forming carboxyhaemoglobin. This decreases the blood's oxygen carrying capacity and the brain suffers from oxygen deprivation. One should never burn coal stove inside a closed room, doctors advised.

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