Two drivers fall asleep after lighting lamp in closed truck cabin in Nainital, die of suffocation

Nainital, Jan 11 (PTI) A man and his nephew were found dead, likely due to suffocation, in their truck here on Sunday after they lit a lamp inside the vehicle due to the harsh cold and fell asleep, police said.

They were found unconscious in the truck's cabin by workers at a stone crusher in Pirumadara village near Ramnagar town and rushed to a hospital, which declared them dead.

According to police, Mohammad Irfan and Mohammad Ikrar, residents of Sambhal district in Uttar Pradesh, had come to the stone crusher on Saturday night to pick up a consignment. After loading the material in the truck around 5 am on Sunday, they parked the truck outside the crusher.

Due to the biting cold outside, they lit a kerosene lamp in the truck's cabin, closed the windows and fell asleep.

Other workers later called out to them, but when they received no response, they broke the windows of the truck and found both of them unconscious.

They were taken to a government hospital in Ramnagar where doctors declared them dead.

Initial investigations suggest death due to suffocation, but the exact cause will be known only after the post-mortem report, doctors said.

Police have started an investigation into the matter and the bodies have been sent for post-mortem. PTI DPT SKY SKY