VISAKHAPATNAM: Two persons, including a seven-year-old boy were suspected to have died of asphyxiation as they fell asleep at night after lighting a fire in a room to beat the cold. The incident took place on Saturday night in the abandoned forest quarters in Arakuvalley of Alluri Sitarama Raju (ASR) district.
Inspector of Arakuvalley Police station, L Himagiri said the deceased persons have been identified as Korra Chintamma (50) and her grand-son Korra Nani (7). The duo fell asleep after lighting a fire in the portable fire pan (kumpati in local parlance) in their room at night to protect themselves from the cold, and were found dead on Sunday morning, he added.
The police said Korra Balaram, a native of Sovva locality of Dumbriguda mandal, along with his family (three children, wife, and mother) has been residing in the old-forest quarters in Arakuvalley for the past five years. Balaram is a plumber by profession.
On Saturday, four of a family snoozed in the hall of the room while chintamma and Nani were slept in another room of the residence. Due to the room being completely closed and the fire burning, both of them suffocated to death. The police have registered a case and sent the bodies to hospital for postmortem.
