Kanhai’s house in Patna City on Thursday. Picture by Sachin

Patna, Jan. 13: Lighting fire to escape the chill proved fatal for the family of an autorickshaw driver whose two children died of asphyxiation in the small hours last night.

With Patna witnessing the coldest day of this season on Wednesday, 40-year-old Kanhai lit a dim fire made from coal inside at their one-room house at the Jai Krishna Prasad Road under the Khajekala police station in Patna City.

The ill-ventilated room got filled with poisonous gases resulting in the death of Kanhai’s two children — Pooja, aged seven and Shiv, aged four years.

Kanhai, his wife Renu Devi (35), and Narayani Devi, a relative of theirs are presently undergoing treatment at the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH).

The condition of Kanhai is also stated to be critical.

An officer at the Khajekala police station said that the bodies had been sent for a postmortem though prima facie it appeared to be death resulting from the inhaling of poisonous gases. The room had no window, only the main door.

“The two children were unwell from before. Both were suffering from heavy cold. While the children along with the relative were sleeping on the floor, Kanhai and his wife were sleeping on a bed. Their room is very small and has got no proper ventilation. This might have led to the accumulation of gases,” the officer said.

Neigbours of Kanhai said they grew suspicious when the family did not open the door in the morning.

“The family is generally up by 7am. But today, until 10 am, no one opened the door. We grew a bit suspicious and knocked at the door but there was no answer. After some time, we broke open the door and found the two kids almost frozen,” a neighbour told The Telegraph.

Another relative said: “The bodies were absolutely hard. The others two were in a bad shape but showed some movement. We immediately informed the police and rushed the all the family members to the hospital.”