SEVERAL CHILDREN were among at least 89 people who died in a fire that swept for several hours through a hospital in the Indian city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) before dawn yesterday.
Officials said most of the victims in the six-storey AMRI private hospital were patients who were asleep when the blaze erupted in the basement at about 4am local time, spreading swiftly via air-conditioning shafts.
Eyewitnesses said thick smoke engulfed the hospital and firefighters smashed windows to evacuate people by hauling them down ladders to safety from upper floors while sobbing relatives waited anxiously on the street below.
People from local slums had tried jumping into the hospital compound to rescue patients, as the fire brigade took more than an hour to arrive. However, security guards kept them back, saying there was a small fire in the kitchen and that the situation was under control.
As the smoke enveloped the building, the guards allowed locals in to help, but by then the flames had spread out of control.
Sudipta Nundy said his brother-in-law, who was being treated for an infection at the hospital, died by the time rescuers arrived in his smoke-filled ward.
“He would have survived had the hospital authorities allowed outsiders in early to evacuate the patients,” Mr Nundy said.
State urban development Minister Firhad Hakim said many of the victims died of smoke inhalation. He said the narrow alleyways surrounding the hospital slowed rescue operations.
Sanjeet Kayal, a local resident, said: “We could see helpless patients inside trying to catch our attention, asking for help by pressing their hands and faces against windows.” It was like a nightmare, he added.
State chief minister Mamata Banerjee called the fire an “unforgivable crime” and said those responsible would get the harshest punishment. She cancelled the hospital’s licence, promising authorities would take the “strongest action” against its owners.