Eight Indian tourists including four children died of suspected suffocation in a hotel in Nepal on Tuesday, police said, after trying to keep warm by using a gas heater during the night.
The victims were staying in Daman, a hill resort south of Kathmandu which is known for its panoramic views of the Himalayas.
“They had lit a gas heater to keep the room warm and probably suffocated,” police official Hobindra Bogati told Reuters. Seven other tourists in the group were unharmed.
The Kerala natives were airlifted to HAMS hospital in Kathmandu where they were pronounced dead on arrival.
“All eight were airlifted and brought to hospital in Kathmandu. A doctor from the Indian mission was also immediately sent to the concerned hospital to check on welfare of patients and to provide necessary assistance,” sources at the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu told PTI.
The deceased – two couples and four children – were part of a group of 15 people travelling from Kerala to Pokhara, a popular mountainous tourist destination.
They were on their way back home and stayed at Everest Panorama Resort in Daman in Makawanpur district on Monday night.
According to the manager at the resort, the guests stayed in a room and turned on a gas heater to keep themselves warm.
Although they had booked a total of four rooms, eight of them stayed in a room and remaining others in another room, the manager said, adding that all the windows and the door of the room were bolted from inside.
The Indian mission has assured all necessary assistance to the family members of the victims.
In Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled the death of Malayali tourists in Nepal.
On the directions of the chief minister, officials have taken steps to expedite procedures for the repatriation of the mortal remains of the victims, his office said.
