Man dies of asphyxiation due to leakage of gas into toilet

COIMBATORE: A 49-year-old man from Peelamedu died of asphyxiation when he attempted to rescue his father and brother who had fallen unconscious after inhaling poisonous gas said to have leaked from the septic tank situated in their house, in the wee hours on Monday, the police said.

The deceased was identified as S Balaji (49) from HADCO Colony in Peelamedu. His father and brother have been admitted to CMCH.

According to the police, Sridhar (70), Balaji’s father, went to the restroom at 2.30 am on Monday. Since he did not return after a while, his younger son Murali (45) went to check on him. Soon after he entered the restroom, he fell on the floor.Upon hearing the noise, Balaji went in and unllike the two others, did not return.

Suspecting that something terrible had befallen her family, Balaji’s mother alerted the neighbours who rescued the trio and sent them to CMCH, where Balaji was declared brought dead.

The Peelamedu police have booked a case and stated that it was the neighbours who noticed that poisonous gas from the septic tank was leaking into the toilet. “Poor installation of the cut off pipe could have caused leakage,” they added. A probe is on.