By Nayak Paudel
Kathmandu, Jan. 18: On Saturday evening, four individuals were found dead in a house at Ward No. 10 in Birendranagar Municipality, Surkhet.
Kalpa Budha and her two sons – nine-year-old Niraj Budha and eight-year-old Chiranjivi Budha – as well as her brother’s six-year-old son Somraj Budha were found dead in a room of their house.
According to the police, they found burnt coals in a pan under their bed.

A preliminary investigation has shown that the four died from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning caused due to emissions from the coal.
Similarly, on January 14, 32-year-old Sunita Bhattarai of Ward No. 3 in Galyang Municipality of Syangja died due to suffocation in bathroom while bathing with hot water from a gas geyser.
“When Sunita neither came out from the bathroom for a long time nor responded to the calls, her family members broke open the door and found her unconscious. She was rushed to Lumbini Medical College but died during treatment,” said police. A student in the hostel of Kathmandu Model School was similarly found dead in a bathroom in December last year. The cause of death was suffocation by emission from the gas geyser and lack of ventilation. 

Likewise, on November 30 last year, a six-day-old daughter and her parents were found dead at Ward No. 2 in Tamakoshi Rural Municipality, Dolakha. “A cupboard in their room had caught fire from the coal burnt to heat the newborn amid the cold. The smoke from the fire then led to suffocation and the trio died,” police said. Several deaths by suffocation are reported from across the country every winter as people use heating systems without caution.

Gas heater and geyser alongside coal and firewood can emit carbon monoxide in life-threatening levels in the ill-ventilated rooms due to which doctors suggest keeping doors and windows open for fresh air.
“The heating systems require oxygen for combustion but emit CO in the process because of which an ill-ventilated room can get filled with CO in life-threatening quantities. If someone inhales CO for around 3-7 minutes, it can cause death due to lack of oxygen,” said Dr. Basanta Panta.

Dr. Panta, a senior neurosurgeon, informed that the brain requires oxygen to function. “If a human body doesn’t receive enough oxygen for that period, the brain will get damaged, leading to death,” he said.
Someone inhaling CO gets unconscious and dies if not tended by a medical professional in time. 
“The period until which the brain doesn’t receive enough oxygen determines the level of damage. Any harm in the brain is serious, making it difficult to treat those rescued to treat CO poisoning,” Dr. Panta told The Rising Nepal.

Nevertheless, Dr. Panta stressed that the gas geysers and heaters can become faulty sometimes, so they need to be serviced and tested by experts at least once a year. 
“Awareness about proper use of heating systems should be provided to all. Deaths by suffocation should also be investigated thoroughly,” said Dr. Panta. Meanwhile, Nepal Police informed that they investigate into such deaths properly. 

“Police officers conduct proper investigation into such incident sites. If the preliminary investigation raises suspicion, an intensive investigation is conducted,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Bishnu Kumar KC, central spokesperson for Nepal Police.

Nevertheless, the police and doctors urged the public to have a ventilated room while using heating systems.