BENGALURU: Two children died of suffocation after fire broke out inside their locked house at Basapura Main Road in Electronics City on Sunday, when their parents were away at work.
The deceased are Sajan (5) and his sister Lakshmi (2). The parents, Devendra and Roopasi, hail from Nepal and had come to the city three years ago. Devendra is employed as a security personnel at a nearby apartment while Roopasi works as a maid.
A senior police officer said that Devendra was away on duty, and Roopasi left home at 10.30am. She locked the main door and closed windows of the house to prevent the kids from coming out to play. She returned from work around 11.30 am and found smoke emanating from the house. The children were found lying unconscious on the floor while the house was burnt partially.
They live on the ground floor of a four-storey building. Roopasi alerted the neighbours and rushed the kids to Narayana Hrudayalaya where they were declared brought dead.
It is suspected that soon after Roopasi left home, Sajan may have lit a matchstick which caused a mattress to catch fire. The thick smoke did not escape the house as the door and windows were closed, and both kids suffocated to death.
The bodies were shifted to St. John’s Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
The cause of death was found to be asphyxiation due to intense smoke inhalation, which caused the blood oxygen levels to drop, leading to loss of consciousness and death. The Electronic City police are further investigating the case.