Friday, December 9, 2011

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India | Updated Dec 09, 2011 at 04:58pm IST

Kolkata: 73 dead in AMRI Hospital fire, owners surrender

CNN-IBN

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Kolkata: The owners of AMRI Hospital, RS Goenka and SK Todi, have surrendered before the Kolkata police at Lal Bazar Police Headquarters on Friday after a major fire at the hospital in South Kolkata left 73 dead. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that at least 73 people are dead in the major fire that broke out at AMRI Hospital in Dhakuria in south Kolkata on Friday.

Out of the 73 dead, 70 were patients and 3 were the hospital staff. Reports said that the hospital authorities fled from the spot. Meanwhile, the registration of the hospital has also been cancelled the West Bengal government.
Out of the 150 people admitted in the hospital, 90 were rescued.
As angry relatives gathered at the hospital to look for their loved ones, they vent their ire at the lack of relief and rescue efforts by the hospital authorities by damaging AMRI's properties.
AMRI Hospital is jointly promoted by the RS Goenka-led Emami Group and the SK Todi-led Shrachi Group of companies. Emami shares were down by 1.71 per cent when the news last came in on Friday ( Sensex fell by 1.8 per cent).
The fire was under control. Nearly 25 fire tenders were working hard to evacuate all patients and staff.
Mamata rushed to the spot on Friday morning to take stock of the situation and also ordered an FIR against the hospital authorities.
There was still no clarity on what caused the fire.
West Bengal Health Minister Sudip Bandhyopadhyay said that the West Bengal Government was shocked to know that the fire safety measures were not in place in the hospital.
However, Senior Vice President of the AMRI hospital Dr S Upadhyay claimed all the necessary fire equipment was in place.
The angry relatives of the patients who died alleged that the hospital staff abandoned patients and did not help them rush out. They said that this resulted in suffocation, and therefore, deaths of the patients.
"Isn't it strange that in such a fire only patients lose their lives and not a single casualty from the hospital. They left the patients to choke to death," said an angry relative of a patient.
Upset and angry relatives destroyed hospital property shouting slogans against authorities for not having enough fire safety measures. The fire had also engulfed the ICU and relatives claim that they were the ones who rescued most patients and that help arrived much later. A few of them also heckled officials at the spot.
The hospital announced that the family of those who have died will be paid Rs 5 lakh as compensation.
Reports said many bodies were moved to SSKM hospital. The identification of bodies was on but sources said some of the bodies may not be identified as they were charred.
"The fire engulfed four floors of one of the buildings of the AMRI hospital in Dhakuria," an officer manning the city police control room told IANS over phone.
The 161-bed hospital is located in Dhakuria in Kolkata.
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.
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.
AMRI helpline numbers: +91 9831225067, +91 9932215296
(With additional information from IANS and PTI)

Snapshot | Posted on Dec 09, 2011 at 01:59pm IST

Snapshot: AMRI highlights achievement on website on day of fire

IBNLive.com

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Medical staff at the AMRI hospital in Kolkata's Dhakuria abandoned their patients and fled for safety early Friday as fire and smoke poured through the building, leaving 65 people dead, many from smoke inhalation, government officials said.
As rescuers scrambled to evacuate survivors, police filed a case against the hospital for violating safety procedures and top government officials vowed to hold the hospital accountable for the tragedy. Ironically, the hospital's website on Friday highlighted a recent survey by The Week magazine ranking them among the top five hospitals of Kolkata.

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)

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9 Dec, 2011, 04.40PM IST, IANS

At least 73 killed in Kolkata hospital blaze

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He said the sky lift came only around 7 a.m.

"They (firemen) came with manual ladders. Had the sky lift come earlier, many people could have been saved. There are around 160 patients inside. All are dead...so is my father-in-law," said an anguished Sarkar.

Banerjee rushed to the spot, but only stoked the rage of the people, leading to a near-stampede and police resorting to batons.

"Because Mamata is here, the ambulances cannot go towards the annexe building. Please ask her to shift to another road," shouted a distraught relative of a victim.

Banerjee tried to cool things down and shouted at police but it was little help.

She went near the relatives and said 40 bodies have been kept at the SSKM Hospital. "Police will take you there. They will escort you there by forming a barricade around you."

The chief minister said photos of the unidentified victims would be displayed outside the SSKM morgue. "After identification, we will send the bodies in hearses to their homes."

Promising strict action, Banerjee also promised Rs.3 lakh if family members of the victims, who are not well-off, made an appeal.

The hospital management, who patients said came only several hours after the fire broke around 3 a.m., said they had all fire-fighting equipments in place and did not know what had gone wrong.

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