Tamil Nadu: 3 kids asphyxiate to death in parked car in Tirunelveli district

TIRUNELVELI: Three children, including a boy and his sister, were asphyxiated to death after they got accidentally locked inside an unused car while playing near their home in Tirunelveli district on Saturday. The deceased were N Nithish, 7, his sister N Nithisha, 5 and S Kabisan, 4, of Palar Palli Theru, Leppai Kudiyiruppu near Panagudi.
Police said the children opened one of the doors of the sedan belonging to a relative and got inside to play. However, they were trapped as they couldn't open the door from inside. It was only after a few hours when worried parents and family members searched for them that they found the children unconscious in the car. They were rushed to Panagudi government hospital where doctors declared them brought dead. Tirunelveli SP P Saravanan told TOI that the tragedy happened due to fall in oxygen levels inside the vehicle.
The car was unused and was parked for three days. The children died due to depletion of oxygen, especially with the hot weather creating a sort of greenhouse effect. Since it was an old model, the particular car door could be opened from outside but not from inside. An opposite door could have been opened in an easier way, but unfortunately the children didn’t try it,” he added.
Nithish and Nithisha were the children of Nagarajan while Kabisan was a relative's son. The car belonged to Nagarajan’s brother Manikandan. The bodies of the victims were sent to Kanyakumari government medical college hospital at Asaripallam, for postmortem. Panagudi police registered a case under Section 174 of CrPC and are investigating. Assembly speaker M Appavu met the families of the three victims on Saturday evening and consoled them.