Three inmates at Jhumka Prison in Sunsari have died in the past four days from an unidentified illness.

Prison authorities said the inmates initially showed symptoms of high fever, breathing difficulties, and vomiting before succumbing during treatment.

On Wednesday afternoon, 46-year-old Jaleshwar Yadav of ward 8 of Rajbiraj Municipality in Saptari lost consciousness and was rushed to BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences in Dharan, where he died later that evening. He had been serving a sentence for rape.

Earlier on Monday, two other prisoners died. Ramdev Urawa, 48, of ward 6 of Gadhi Rural Municipality in Sunsari, who was serving time for homicide, died on Monday morning. He was taken to Dharan on Saturday night after respiratory problems.

Sagar Rai, 24, of Dharan, who was in prison for trial in a drugs-related case, also died while undergoing treatment after suffering from vomiting and paralysis.

Following the deaths, the Sunsari District Security Committee inspected the prison and launched a health camp from Wednesday night. Superintendent of Police Suman Timilsina said health screenings have begun for inmates in both prison blocks.

More than 160 prisoners have been tested so far, and authorities said the cause of the illness will be known after the reports are analysed. Jhumka Prison currently houses 1,794 inmates.