SITAMARHI: Four members of a family allegedly died after inhaling toxic gases while cleaning the septic tank of their house in Bihar's Sitamarhi district, officials said on Wednesday.
The incident happened around 6 pm on Tuesday in Kurhar village in the Bokhra police station area, they said.
The deceased were identified as Rajeev Sahni, Krishna Kumar, Ravindra Sahni and Vinay Sahni.
"According to villagers, they lost consciousness due to inhalation of toxic gases emanating from the septic tank. Locals pulled them out and rushed them to the nearest hospital, where doctors declared all four dead," Bokhra police station's in-charge Surendra Kumar told PTI.
The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, and further investigation is underway, he said.
Dismissing allegations that the tank was being used to manufacture country-made liquor, the officer said such claims were "far from reality".
In a similar incident in Vaishali district, four members of a family had died on Sunday.