Eight Indian tourists die due to possible gas leak in Nepal

Kathmandu - Four children are among the deceased.

A family from Kerala -- Praveen Krishnan Nair (39), wife Saranya (34), and three children, Sreebhadra (9), Aarcha (8) and Abhi Nair (7) -- died in a suspected gas leak incident that claimed eight lives in Nepal. The Facebook profile pages of Praveen and his wife suggest they were living in Dubai.

While Praveen hailed from Thiruvananthapuram and was working in Dubai, his wife was pursuing her Master's degree in Kochi, according to media reports.

A total of eight Indian tourists, including four children, died on Tuesday after they fell unconscious due to a possible gas leak in their room at a resort in Nepal, according to media reports.

The Indian nationals were airlifted to HAMS Hospital where they were pronounced dead on arrival, Superintendent of Police Sushil Singh Rathaur told media. Praveen's friend Renjith Kumar TB (39) who hails from Kozhikode, his wife Indu Renjith (34) and their son Vaishnav Renjith (2) were also sleeping in the same room, according to a press release issued by the District Police Office, Makwanpur. All three of them died. The couple had two children, their son Madhav was reportedly was sleeping in a different room and his life was spared.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs V. Muraleedharan said that efforts were on to bring the bodies back to India.

"The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu is taking efforts to bring the bodies of the deceased back to Kerala. We are in constant communication with the embassy," he added.

• India