Kolkata: In the worst fire tragedy in any hospital in India, 90 patients and staffers were killed in Kolkata's well-known AMRI hospital when a terrible blaze engulfed its annexe building early Friday, trapping dozens of helpless patients while doctors and others fled to safety.
The pre-dawn fire broke out at 3.30 a.m., catching many in their sleep. While most nurses, doctors and other staffers were able to get away, many critically ill patients suffocated to death in their hospital beds.
The dead included a patient from neighbouring Bangladesh.
The tragedy unfolded over many hours. Some were suffocated, some were too infirm to escape the toxic fumes. The lucky few were brought down the side of the four-storey glass facade building using ropes and ladders, even as thousands watched in horror.
The fire brigade, many alleged, came over two hours late. The fire brigade blamed it on narrow lanes leading to the hospital.
The autopsy has been completed on 87 victims and 84 have been identified, officials said. The blaze also injured over 50 patients. Of the list of 81 dead obtained, 39 are of women, including two teenaged girls. Of the 42 males, one is a 16-year-old boy.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordered the arrest of six hospital directors.
"The hospital staff initially prevented the fire fighters from entering the building," said Banerjee, a shocking admission that only added fuel to the helpless anger of the families of the dead and injured.
The bodies, most of them bearing signs of suffocation, piled up at the SSKM hospital for autopsy. Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee visited the SSKM hospital in the evening and expressed grief and shock over the fire tragedy.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the nation in expressing grief over the tragedy. He announced Rs.200,000 as compensation to families of each of those killed.
Till late in the evening, rescuers were trying to drill holes in the wall and smash the glass-panes in a last ditch effort to look for survivors and bodies, and extinguish still smouldering fires.
