A 35-year-old man and his three children in Orissa are struggling for survival in a hospital in Bhubaneswar after consuming poison, police said.

Jagabandhu Rout of Pingal village in Kendrapada district, about 100km from Bhubaneswar, consumed poison along with his two sons Bikram (6) and Santosh (9), and daughter Tikili (3) on Tuesday evening.

Rout had been unemployed for the past few days. Frustrated with his poor living conditions, he had quarreled with his wife and later decided to commit suicide along with his children, sources in the village said.

Other villagers rushed them to the district hospital where they are undergoing treatment, district Superintendent of Police Dayal Gangwar told rediff.com on Wednesday.