Nirmal youth dies in Saudi winter mishap

In less than a month, another young Indian expatriate died in winter warming mishap in Saudi Arabia.

Jeddah: In less than a month, another young Indian expatriate died in winter warming mishap in Saudi Arabia.

The usage of heaters is high during the winter season in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Gulf region where a majority of deaths occur as result of suffocation caused by fire mishaps. Abdul Zaheer, 28, a native of Nirmal district working in Riyadh died as a result of suffocation that was caused by a fire mishap from a heater while sleeping on Sunday.

Abdul Zaheer was working as a driver with a Saudi family and living in Malaz area in the capital. His father passed away recently in India due to cancer. The only breadwinner of the family, he died tragically as a result of inhaling smoke from the fire that ignited the heater.

Community workers Abdul Rafiq and Muzammil Shaikh are working to complete legal formalities on behalf of the victim’s family.

Earlier, a younger house driver from Tamil Nadu also died in Riyadh in similar circumstances.

Smoke is a silent killer in fire accidents and risk increases while sleeping as the victim does not feel the smoke till choking becomes intense. An average of 7 million heaters are used during the winter season in Saudi Arabia and operate about 45 hours, according to a study. Civil defense authorities have repeatedly been cautioning people about safety and preventive measures with heaters during the winter.