New Delhi : Two men died and another was hospitalised after inhaling toxic gas from a coal brazier that they left burning in their office in Delhi's Mundka area, police said.

The three were using a coal angithi for warmth inside a room that they had bolted from the inside and slept off, leading to the accumulation of deadly carbon mono-oxide fumes, a police officer said.

The incident came to light when Pawan, a co-worker from Haryana, alerted the police.

Police said Rajesh, a resident of Ladpur village in Delhi and Rajender Singh, from Araji Jadaupur in Uttar Pradesh, both 44-years-old, along with their co-worker Mukesh Pandey (26), from Ravidass Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, were found unconscious.

Rajesh and Rajender were declared dead at the spot while Mukesh, who was found unconscious, was taken to Mangolpuri Hospital and is undergoing treatment, officials said.

Preliminary investigations suggest that suffocation caused by toxic fumes from the coal heater led to the deaths. The lack of ventilation in the room exacerbated the situation, according to police.