The Chennai Police on Tuesday said a family of three suffocated to death in Koyambedu locality after the air conditioning unit in their bedroom leaked toxic gas on Monday night. Unidentified police officials told Scroll.in that they suspect the incident occurred after a power cut in the area.

The police are awaiting the postmortem results and have registered a First Information Report under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code that pertains to unnatural deaths, The News Minute reported. “The bodies have been sent to the Kilpauk Medical College,” the officer said.

The deceased have been identified as Kalaiarasi, her husband Saravanan, and their son, Karthikeyan. The police said the family must have slept with the inverter for their AC switched on after the power was restored. “This caused the gas from the air conditioner’s cylinders to leak,” a police officer told The News Minute. “They were asphyxiated by the gas.”