Eight Indian tourists died of suspected asphyxiation in a hotel in Nepal on Tuesday after trying to keep warm by using a gas heater in their room.
The group were found unresponsive at Daman, a hill resort 55 kilometres south of Kathmandu known for its panoramic views of the Himalayas.
Rescue helicopters flew the tourists to Kathmandu, where they were declared dead at a hospital, police official Hobindra Bogati said.
Among the eight was a family of five from Dubai identified by police as Praveen Krishnan Nair, Saranya Sasi, Sreebhadra Praveen, Aarcha Praveen, Abhinav Saranya Nair.
The others were named as Ranjith Kumar Adatholath Punathil, Indu Lakshmi Peethambaran Ragalatha and Vyshnav Ranjith.
The eight tourists were part of a group of 15 who had travelled to Nepal from the South Indian state of Kerala.
The hotel was fully booked so eight shared one room. It is suspected they died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
“They had lit a gas heater to keep the room warm and probably suffocated,” police official Hobindra Bogati told Reuters. Seven other tourists were unharmed.
Tourism is a major source of revenue for Nepal's economy, providing hundreds of thousands of jobs. Last year, slightly more than a million tourists visited the country, of which the biggest contingent – about a tenth – came from India.
Last week, police in Abu Dhabi warned residents of the deadly risks of using heaters inside homes.
Burning gasoline, wood, propane, charcoal or other fuel produces carbon monoxide, a colourless, odourless, tasteless gas.
Without proper ventilation, the gas can accumulate to dangerous levels and lead to death.
