Chennai: A woman and three granddaughters choked to death in their sleep after the mosquito repellent machine in the room caught fire.
The three apparently died of suffocation from the noxious smoke that engulfed the room. The incident took place at Manali in the northern part of Chennai.
Santhanalakshmi (65), and her granddaughters Sandhya (10), Priya Rakshitha (8), and Pavithra (8) succumbed after inhaling the toxic fumes.
Reportedly, the victims breathed carbon monoxide in their sleep as smoke filled the closed room when the device caught fire; as the liquified insecticide in it got over and it fell onto a cardboard box below.
Mosquito-repellent machines used in households contain an insecticide called Allethrin.
Sandhya and Priya Rakshitha were the daughters of Santhanalakshmi's daughter Selvi. Pavithra was the daughter of Selvi’s brother.
The disaster took place on the night when Selvi had gone to the hospital to attend to her husband who had been injured in an accident. He works as a food delivery worker.
