Newlywed Woman Dies In Bathroom By Inhaling Toxic Gas Leaking From Geyser

A woman in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh suffocated to death while taking a bath due to excess inhalation of carbon monoxide, an odorless gas that was leaking from the bathroom geyser.

The woman, identified as Nidhi Gupta, was a private bank employee who had married a local businessman Nischal Gupta on Feb. 3. She was found dead Sunday, just three days into her marriage, The Free Press Journal reported.

Hari Mohan Singh, Additional Superintendent of Police, said the bathroom where her body was found was barely 0.9m by 1.2m in size and had no ventilation.

"The bathroom was hardly 3 by 4 feet in size. There was no arrangement for ventilation in it. The woman died of suffocation caused by a gas leak from the geyser. Family members had taken out the body after breaking open the bathroom door. The family of the woman was informed about her death. So far, no complaint has been received in the entire matter," Singh said, as quoted by The Times of India.

According to Dr. Dinesh Premi, Chief Medical Officer in the Firozabad district of the same state, inhalation of carbon monoxide in a poorly ventiated space can render a person unconscious and eventually lead to death. "Inhalation of carbon monoxide leaking from the bathroom geyser can result in death of a person if there is lack of ventilation. The situation results in a sudden decline in the level of oxygen in the body, rendering a person unconscious and later dying due to suffocation," he said, according to The Free Press Journal.

Premi also added that several cases of people passing out in bathrooms are reported during winters and that geyser leak is found to be the most common reason in majority of the cases.

In a similar incident reported on Feb. 3, a 13-year-old girl in India died after inhaling the carbon monoxide gas that leaked from her bathroom geyser. The victim's family said they had purchased the water heater just a month earlier, and that the appliance had a one-year warranty. The girl's father said the 8th grader had gone to the bathroom after finishing her online class when the tragic death occurred. It wasn't clear if any action was taken against the company or the water heater.