Newly-wed Pakistani couple dies of suffocation

A newly-wed couple in a rural area of Pakistan’s Islamabad city died of suffocation caused by gas leakage from a room heater, said police. They were married last Sunday.

The 45-year-old Naseer Ahmed, who worked as a superintendent at a post office, and his wife Farhat Hafza, 33, were married in their native village near Faisalabad city of Punjab province, the Dawn reported.

On Monday, the couple returned to the bridegroom’s house. But when Naseer’s uncle and brother called him over his phone the next day, he did not respond.

The uncle turned suspicious and reached Naseer’s house. On breaking open the bolted door of the couple’s room, both were found lying unconscious. They were rushed to a hospital.

According to the preliminary police investigation, the couple slept with their gas-fired room-heater switched on. Its fire went out sometime later in the night, and as a result the room was filled with unburnt gas which ultimately suffocated the couple to death.