Two men died after allegedly being exposed to a strong chemical smell inside a public toilet at Goregaon East in Mumbai in the early hours of Sunday, officials said.

According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, the incident occurred near the Parsi Panchayat Gate, close to Mrunaltai Bridge in Ram Mandir (East).

BMC officials identified the men as Prabhakar Dhanivar, 24, and Bhavin Desai, 18. Both men were taken to Trauma Care Hospital around midnight and declared dead at 3.49 am, according to doctors there.

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Locals alerted the authorities after noticing a strong chemical odour coming from the public toilet and reported that two people had suffered suffocation.

The Vanrai police have registered an accidental death report and await the post-mortem analysis to establish the exact cause of death.

“Prima facie, it looks like gas emitted by a small-scale industrial unit near the toilet might have come in contact with the two individuals,” a police officer said.

The victims’ families have demanded strict action over the deaths. “We found both of them in an unconscious in the bathroom, their lips turned black and foam was oozing out of their mouths,” Prabhat Dhanivar, the brother of Prabhakar Dhanivar, said.

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BMC officials said the incident was reported to the authorities at around 8.30 am, following which teams from the fire brigade, police, 108 ambulance services, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, and the BMC ward staff were mobilised and sent to the spot.

Officials were also expected to examine the toilet premises and ascertain the source of the smell. A detailed inquiry is likely to establish the sequence of events and the cause of death.