By Sarah Keoghan

Copyright news

Emergency services were called to Haveli Indian restaurant on Garfield Rd at Riverstone about 9.15am on Tuesday in a suspected carbon monoxide poisoning incident.

Police have confirmed a 25-year-old man has died. He is believed to be a cleaner who was found unresponsive inside the restaurant.

KJ Singh, owner of neighbouring Indian supermarket Easyday, said the staff member was part of the overnight cleaning crew, who regularly get the venue ready each day for opening.

He said he was told the staff member died during his overnight shift before being found by the owner the next morning.

“It’s one of the busiest restaurants in the area, we know them well,” he said.

One member of the public and five police officers were also taken to hospital in a stable condition.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Gavin Wood said there were “extremely high levels” of carbon monixide detected at the venue and that a number of occupants had to be helped from both the first and second levels of the building.

“We are dealing with a tragedy here. A young 25-year-old male has lost his life,” Assistant Commissioner Wood said.

He said the investigation was in the “infancy stage” and the early indications are that the deceased was a cleaner employed by the restaurant.

The restaurant opened in April last year.

The owner of the restaurant, Resham Singh, was first on scene with his son, police said.

“The owner and the owner’s son had located the 25-year-old male, subsequently rang police, subsequently commenced CRP themselves, police have responded and commenced the CPR process.

Blacktown councillor Moninder Singh attended the opening last year to celebrate owner Resham Singh and his young family.

Mr Singh said the restaurant often provides catering for local Indian events, with the family well-known in the community.

“Resham is a lovely guy. He’s very humble, it’s so tragic, I visited only just two weeks ago,” Mr Singh told news.com.au.

“It’s a young family. They are lovely people, and the business was picking up a lot. There is a lot of community support.”

The identity of the deceased is not yet known.

Mr Singh said the couple first opened the restaurant in Harris Park. That venue has since closed down, however, they have since opened two Havelis in Stanmore Park and Riverstone.

“We are all shocked. The investigation is going on now,” he said about the local community.

“At this stage we just pray that the people who are injured get well soon.”

Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said multiple people inside the restaurant had been “overcome by gas”.

“A number of these people appear to have been affected by carbon monoxide poisoning,” he said.

Superintendent Dewberry said emergency services responded to reports that an unresponsive person was pulled from the building and could not be resuscitated.

He said firefighters wore breathing apparatuses and gas detectors to enter the building, and got a high reading for carbon monoxide.

“Our specialist hazardous material firefighters are there using a number of high-end detectors to go through the building and determine what the product is and where it is coming from so we can render the site safe,” Superintendent Dewberry told Nine News.

“We have a number of firetrucks, police are on scene and paramedics are standing by.”

With Newswire

-More to come.