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Kolkata: 73 killed in AMRI hospital fire; many suffocated; fire safety laws ... - NDTV

2011-12-09T14:54:00.000-08:00

Kolkata: At least 73 people - most of them patients - have died in this morning's huge fire at AMRI hospital in Kolkata. There were 160 people inside the hospital in Dhakuria, south Kolkata, when the fire began.

Families of the victims and the government accuse the privately-owned and posh hospital of ignoring basic fire safety laws - a claim refuted by hospital staff. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said this morning's tragedy was "an unforgivable crime" and vowed "the harshest punishment possible" for those found responsible. The license of the hospital has been cancelled. A First Information Report or FIR has also been filed, which launches a criminal case.

Dead bodies are being moved to the SSKM Hospital; families have been asked to identify their relatives before post-mortems are conducted. (Watch: Rescue worker shares what he saw)

The fire began in the basement, where highly inflammable material was allegedly stored. Eyewitnesses say they first spotted and reported smoke streaming from the hospital around 3 am, but the first fire engine arrived two hours later. Additional Director General Fire Services D Biswas, however, denied any delay. He said that the fire brigade was informed at 4.10 am and it responded immediately.

The road leading to the hospital is narrow and congested. Inside the hospital, there was chaos - the building was engulfed in smoke, many patients suffocated. "Every door is locked, every window is locked," said a resident who tried to help. "We cannot bring any patient outside," he said, his anger visible. Through the morning, firemen were seen using ropes and ladders to enter the different floors of the hospital; some windows had to be smashed.

News agency IANS quoted an unnamed hospital spokesperson who reportedly said, "At the time of the fire, there were 160 patients, including around 40-50 in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit)." A man whose wife, Munmun, died in the fire says that in the orthopedic ward where she suffocated, most patients were injured and could not move to safety.
(Munmun, 36, phoned husband to say she was suffocating)

Fire department officials like Mr Biswas blame the hospital for turning into a death trap, alleging that the hospital did not have adequate fire-fighting facilities. AMRI staff denies this. "All statutory safety and fire licences are in place," said S Upadhay, senior vice-president of the hospital.

Relatives of patients vandalized the reception of the hospital this morning, upset that not enough information was being shared by staff. (Read: Family members vandalise hospital reception)

AMRI hospital was set up in 1996, and is co-owned by the Emami & Shrachi Groups. (With agency inputs)

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'Don't worry, nothing will happen, they said' - Deccan Herald

2011-12-09T10:44:00.000-08:00

You are here: Home » National » 'Don't worry, nothing will happen, they said''Don't worry, nothing will happen, they said'
The families of patients and witnesses Friday recounted harrowing tales of a fire at AMRI Hospital that claimed at least 73 lives, saying the authorities neither woke up to the danger on time nor allowed locals to help rescue trapped victims. "We were sleeping. Then we heard someone screaming that there was a fire," said a woman who was inside the hospital.

Some said the the hospital authorities kept giving false assurances.
"We were told 'don't worry, nothing will happen'," said a man quoting the hospital staff.
The disconsolate brother of a victim lamented: "My elder sister was on the third floor. She had jaundice. She was to be discharged today. I am told that she is dead.

"People from nearby slums tried to help but the authorities did not allow them. Instead those who wanted to rescue patients were harassed. Had they not helped, half the patients in the building would have died."

A youth had a similar tale of woe. "When the fire broke out there were fumes. They did not allow any locals to enter the hospital premises. I was the one who dialled the fire brigade number."

Many said victims were suffocated after the fire started after 3 a.m. in the basement and then spread rapidly to other floors.

"I wanted to take my patient home. I went to the ward, asked the doctor to allow me to take out the patients who were all serious as they had suffered strokes. But the doctor did not help me," the youth said.

Some patients were from outside Kolkata."We live in Kalyna (in Nadia district). They did not inform us. They did not allow us to enter," moaned the relative of another victim.

A woman in her 30s complained that while the hospital charged high fees, it lacked fire fighting equipment.

"My brother had suffered a stroke and was admitted. We wanted to shift him to SSKM Hospital because of the exorbitant cost here. The expenses were Rs.5.5 lakh in 19 days," she said.

But as many victims' families discovered to their horror Friday, that a place where lives were supposed to be saved turned into their death bed.

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Over 70 killed in Kolkata hospital fire, 'owners missing' - Hindustan Times

2011-12-09T06:40:00.000-08:00

A firefighter smashes glass windows of the AMRI Hospital nursing home as he searches for survivors after a fire broke out in Kolkata.At least 70 patients suffocated to death when a massive fire broke out in a centrally-airconditioned seven-storey private hospital in the metropolis today. Police and hospital sources said 70 people had died in the fire at the private 190-bed AMRI Hospital at Dhakuria in the southern fringes.

Earlier, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said 41 of the bodies had been brought to the state-run SSKM Hospital in South Kolkata.

"Twenty other bodies are still there in an upper floor of the AMRI hospital," she said.

Of the bodies taken to SSKM, autopsies have been completed on 36. "Twelve have been identified," she said.

The chief minister said the colour photos of the faces of the unidentified victims will be displayed outside the SSKM morgue.

"After identification, we will send the bodies in hearses to their homes."

On the basis of a first information report (FIR) lodged by the fire brigade, police had started a criminal case against the hospital management. "They will be arrested. We will take strict action against the hospital," she said.

However, sources said that the top management of the hospital has already gone underground.

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

"If anybody appeals for a government job. We will also try to help them out."

This is the worst incident of fire in the history of Bengal.

The hospital authorities have issued a press statement saying that they would pay Rs 2 lakh to the family of the deceased.

Many more are believed to be trapped in the building, even as firemen, who many complained had reached the spot only after two hours, brought out the dead and injured using ropes and ladders.

The fire broke out around 3.30am in the basement of the hospital annexe. Co-founded by the Emami & Shrachi Groups along with the West Bengal government in 1996, the hospital is located in the congested Dhakuria locality.

"The victims mostly got suffocated from the fumes. Many of them were in a serious condition in the ICU," West Bengal urban development minister Firhad Hakim said, adding that some firemen fell unconscious due to the fumes.

"The father of one of my friends was admitted in one of the upper floors. When he heard I am at the spot he called up his son and told him to ask me to rescue him. I could not do anything. I saw his burnt body," said the minister who reached the spot early.

There are around 200 beds in the affected block.

"At the time of the fire, there were 160 patients, including around 40-50, in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit). Eighty percent have been rescued," a hospital spokesman said.

Fire services minister Javed Khan, who is supervising the rescue operations, said: "Some more people are believed to have been trapped. We have already rescued over 50 people."

An officer manning the city police control room said the fire spread fast and engulfed four floors of the building.

"The fire is under control but yet to be doused completely. My men are putting out fire in one spot only to find another area in flames. There is a lot of combustible material," said Khan.

Alleging that the firefighting was hindered due to lack of cooperation from the hospital authorities, a local resident said: "We were not allowed to enter early in the morning. Had we been allowed, more lives could have been saved."

The hospital has two other blocks in the complex where some of the patients rescued from the affected block have been transferred.

Around 25 fire engines had been rushed to the spot. The fire fighters were seen using hydraulic ladders to rescue the patients and office staff by cutting open the glasses with gas cutters.

A patient in his 50s admitted in the second floor of the affected building said he was brought down by breaking the glass windows.

"Around 4 a.m. when I had gone to the toilet I heard nurses saying that a portion of the building has caught fire. But they did not help me. Finally along with some other patients I came near a window. Then the fire brigade personnel came and rescued me by breaking open the glass windows."

"I tried to bring all my medical papers but they slipped out of my hands. I have lost them," said the sobbing patient.

Another patient said: "There was smoke. I helped many of the patients come out of their wards. But I could not bring out two seriously ill patients."

Hundreds of relatives of the patients admitted in the hospital were seen weeping and pleading with the firemen and disaster management personnel for news of their dear ones.

"We came to the hospital at the crack of dawn when we got to hear of the fire from television. We don't know what has happened to our family member," said a patient's relative.

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Hospital Fire Kills More Than 70 in Eastern India - Voice of America

2011-12-09T02:15:00.001-08:00

Rescue workers use ropes to evacuate people after a fire broke at a hospital, in Kolkata, India, December 9, 2011.

A fire has killed more than 70 people at a private hospital in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata.

Authorities say the blaze swept through the AMRI Hospital early Friday in the capital of West Bengal state.

Local television channels showed patients being rolled out on stretchers and distraught relatives waiting outside the hospital as smoke engulfed the multi-story building.

Rescuers broke windows to get to some of the patients who were trapped and later moved to a nearby hospital.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee promised a full investigation into the incident, after government officials alleged that some hospital staff fled the scene when the fire broke out.

Banerjee also said action would be taken if fire prevention standards were found to be below-standard.

Some 160 patients were said to be in the hospital at the time of the blaze.

Firefighters worked to bring the blaze under control and rescue those still trapped inside the building, after maneuvering narrow surrounding streets to reach the Kolkata hospital.

Officials say the fire broke out in the hospital's basement, where chemicals were stored.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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Fire in Kolkata's AMRI hospital: 73 killed, several injured - Times of India

2011-12-09T02:06:00.001-08:00

Fire in Kolkata's AMRI hospital: 73 killed, several injured
Times of India
KOLKATA: At least 73 people, including three hospital staff, were killed and several others injured in a massive fire that broke out at the AMRI hospital in south Kolkata early this morning. The hospital authorities, however, have pledged a ...

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2011-12-09T01:49:00.001-08:00

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