Labourers burn coal indoors due to cold; 2 dead, 7 hospitalised in Shimla

Burning coal inside a room to cope with the cold turned out to be hazardous for some labourers in Shimla, as two of them died while seven more were in hospital, police said on Sunday.

The incident happened on Friday night in the Kotgarh area of the Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh.

All the labourers had burned coal inside the room to cope with the cold weather, but the gas formation combined with the lack of air inside the room led to suffocation.

The local villagers opened the door on the second day and found all the labourers unconscious. Two labourers died while seven are undergoing treatment in a local hospital.

The local police has registered a case in the matter.