Six persons, who worked as caterers in marriage parties, died of asphyxiation while sleeping beside a ‘tandoor’ (an oven) kept along with the utensils in a tempo parked near a marriage venue in Cantonment area here, police said on Tuesday.
Police said the incident happened late on Monday night but was reported to the police at around 2.30 a.m on Tuesday by one Nirmal — a supervisor, who went to check on them in the vehicle.
“The deceased — Amit, Pankaj, Anil, Kamal, Awad Lal and Deep Chand — all in the age group of 30-35, were natives of Uttarakhand and lived in a rented accommodation in Chandra Vihar in Nangloi area of west Delhi. They were taken to a nearby hospital where all of them were declared dead,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Sibesh Singh said.
“The deceased had gone for catering work in a marriage party in Delhi Cantt area. After the function was over, they loaded their utensils and ‘tandoor’ at the back of the tempo and went to another function venue on Mall Road at around 12.30 a.m,” Singh said.
“They were not aware of the fire still lit inside the oven and slept in the vehicle after covering it well. They died of smoke and asphyxiation,” the officer added.