<p>Smoking a cigarette proved fatal for a 70-year-old man, who died as the mattress he was sleeping on caught fire after he fell asleep with the burning stub in his house at nearby Kakkanad, police said today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The mishap happened after the deceased, M K Babu, who was lying down after lunch yesterday, decided to smoke a cigarette. As he was smoking, he fell asleep with the lighted cigarette which apparently fell on the mattress burning it.<br /><br />The fire spread fast due to a kerosene can near the bed. The inmates of the house and neighbours noticed rushed to the house to find fire and smoke billowing out, police said.<br />Though he was rushed to hospital, his life could not be saved.</p>
<p>Smoking a cigarette proved fatal for a 70-year-old man, who died as the mattress he was sleeping on caught fire after he fell asleep with the burning stub in his house at nearby Kakkanad, police said today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The mishap happened after the deceased, M K Babu, who was lying down after lunch yesterday, decided to smoke a cigarette. As he was smoking, he fell asleep with the lighted cigarette which apparently fell on the mattress burning it.<br /><br />The fire spread fast due to a kerosene can near the bed. The inmates of the house and neighbours noticed rushed to the house to find fire and smoke billowing out, police said.<br />Though he was rushed to hospital, his life could not be saved.</p>