Three members of a family, including a four-year-old child, were killed on Thursday after inhaling poisonous gases that were emitted by a burnt fridge in their rented house near Mannanthala.
The deceased were identified as Anil Raj, 33, of Dhanuvachapuram, his wife Aruna, 27, and their daughter Alisha. They were found dead in their rented house in Maruthoor, near Mannanthala. While Anil was found lying on a mat that had been spread on the floor, the others were found dead on a bed.
According to the police, the neighbours had alerted the Mannanthala police after noting the unusual absence of Aruna, whose daily routine involved heading for the kitchen, which was located outside the main building, early in the morning.
The dead bodies were found after police personnel forced their way into the house.
Peroorkada Circle Inspector B. Pankajakshan said that the post-mortem that was later conducted at the Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital revealed the presence of carbon monoxide in the lungs of the deceased.
Poisonous gas
“We have arrived at the conclusion that the poisonous gas was emitted by the burnt fridge which could have been damaged due to a short circuit. The lack of proper ventilation could have resulted in the family breathing in the poisonous gas during their sleep. There was no damage in the house,” he said.
Anil and Aruna were employed at the Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Technology. They have been residing in the rented house for over a year. The bodies were handed over to the next-of-kin soon after the post-mortems were conducted.
Soon after the incident had come to light, a large crowd had gathered in the locality with many visibly shocked after learning of the tragic deaths.
Senior police officials including City Police Commissioner G. Sparjan Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police G. Siva Vikram were among those who arrived on the spot.
