Kolkata: At least 20 patients were feared to have suffocated to death after a devastating fire swept through a seven storied annexe building of a private hospital at Dhakuria here today.
'Twenty patients are feared to have suffocated to death in the fire at the AMRI Hospital,' West Bengal Urban Development
Minister Firhad Hakim said.
Some bodies were found in departments that firemen were able to access, he said.
Initial reports had said that 40 patients were trapped inside the building, but Hakim said he was unable to give the
exact figure now as none of the hospital authorities could be contacted.
The fire which was suspected to have originated in the electrical department in the basement of the centrally
air-conditioned building swiftly spread, with the third floor and above being affected the most, fire brigade sources said.
The fire brigade despatched 25 fire engines, which took time to reach the smoke-engulfed building because of narrow
approach roads, Hakim said.
Firemen using ladders smashed window panes in the facade to rescue patients trapped inside the ICU, ICCU, ITU and
Critical Care units.
Fire Services Minister Javed Khan said the fire spread because of stocks of highly combustible material and it was
still not under control.
The hospital also did not have proper fire-fighting equipment, he said.
Fire brigade sources said that firemen were trying to locate oxygen cylinders stocked on the floors, as the fire
could make them explode.
Thick smoke was hindering the operations, they said.Commissioner of Kolkata Police R K Pachnanda too rushed to
the spot and panicked families of patients thronged the premises. Personnel of the Disaster Management Group reached
the scene and were assisting in the operations. PTI
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