New Delhi – At least 19 people have died and over 100 have been injured in a fire in a hospital in eastern India, a local government official said Tuesday.
The fire broke out late Monday in a privately-owned hospital in the city of Bhubaneswar in the state of Orissa.
The fire began in a room between the intensive care unit and the dialysis ward on the first floor of the hospital, Orissa Health Secretary Aarti Ahuja said.
“Nineteen people died, most were patients. All others in the hospital, an estimated 400 people, were evacuated,” Ahuja said. Some were rescued by breaking windows on the first floor, Ahuja added.
Relatives of an Indian patient carried on strecher as they transfer him to an emergency ward at Swarooprani medical hospital, in Allahabad on September 23,2016. At least 19 people have died and over 100 have been injured in a fire in a hospital in eastern India, a local government official said Tuesday. (Credit Image: © Ritesh Shukla/NurPhoto via ZUMA Press)
The injured were taken to other hospitals across the city, several of whom were in a critical condition, NDTV news channel reported.
The government has ordered a fire safety audit of all hospitals in the state, Ahuja said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter he was “deeply anguished by the loss of lives,” and described the event as a “mind-numbing” tragedy.
-dpa
