Amaravati, March 15 : Four members of a family died due to asphyxiation after inhaling smoke from a bike kept on for the entire night in Andhra Pradeshâ??s Annamayya district, police said on Sunday.

The tragic incident occurred in Punganur town on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.

All four people died in their sleep at their home on Tyagaraja Street.

The deceased were identified as the grandfather, his two granddaughters and a grandson.

According to police, one Murali, who runs a hair salon, had his motorbike serviced at a mechanic on Saturday. Due to a problem in the engine, the mechanic replaced the bore piston. He had reportedly advised Murali to keep the engine on for the entire night.

Murali closed all the windows of the house and kept the bike on. While Murali and his wife Revati went to sleep on the terrace, his father Ramachandraiah, their son Karthik, and twin daughters Charita and Chandana slept in the house.

The smoke from the bike filled the house as all doors and windows were closed.

Ramchandraiah (70), his twin granddaughters Charita and Chandana, aged 8, and grandson Karthik (15) were found dead on Sunday morning.

Murali and his wife escaped as they slept on the terrace.

Police shifted the bodies for post-mortem examination. Preliminary investigation shows that they all died due to asphyxiation after inhaling carbon monoxide.

The incident shocked the residents in the town. Police registered a case and took up further investigation.

Meanwhile, two people died in a road accident in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.

According to police, the accident occurred at BHPV Junction when a truck ran over vehicles which had stopped at the intersection. Two people died on the spot.

One Ramakrishna, who was on his way to Simhachalam with his daughter, died in the accident. Another deceased was identified as Santoshi.

A car and two two-wheelers were damaged in the accident.

Police arrested the truck driver and launched an investigation.

/IANS