13-Year-Old Girl Dies After Inhaling Toxic Gas That Leaked From Water Heater At Home

A 13-year-old girl died in India after inhaling carbon monoxide gas that leaked from a water heater in her bathroom, the police said Thursday.

The incident took place on Jan. 31 in India's capital territory of Delhi, media outlet NDTV reported. The victim's family said they had purchased the water heater a month ago from an electronics shop, and added the appliance had a one-year warranty.

The victim was found unconscious in her bathroom at their house in Platinum Heights Apartment, deputy commissioner of police Shankar Choudhary said, according to The Indian Express.

The girl’s father Neeraj Ahlawat told The Indian Express his daughter, a grade 8 student, went for a bath after finishing her online class.

“She went for a shower around 2.30 pm. Since she had not come out even after an hour, we broke open the door. She was found lying unconscious, and we immediately took her to hospital,” he said.

“She was taken to Venkateshwar Hospital where she was declared dead on arrival. Her postmortem (autopsy) was conducted at DDU hospital and as per a medico-legal case (MLC) and enquiry, she died after inhaling carbon monoxide while taking a bath. No foul play has been found so far,” Choudhary said.

It wasn't clear if any action was being taken against the store or the company that sold the water heater.

In a similar incident in the southern Indian state of Karnataka last month, a woman and her daughter were found dead in their house after allegedly inhaling toxic gas that leaked from the water heater. The police found the 35-year-old mother and her 7-year-old daughter dead in the bathroom from what appeared to be suffocation. Authorities believe the duo passed out after inhaling an excessive amount of carbon monoxide, a toxic and odorless gas that leaked from the bathroom’s water heater. "We suspect the incident took place at 11 a.m. when the duo went for a bath. They fell unconscious and breathed their last. They had closed the windows while taking bath. We suspect the duo suffocated to death after inhaling carbon monoxide that leaked from the substandard gas geyser in the bathroom," an officer involved in the investigation told local media at the time.