Kolkata:
The worst fire tragedy in any hospital in India, 88 patients and staffers were killed in Kolkata's well-known AMRI hospital early on Friday, so many helpless patients were trapped while doctors and others ran for safety.
The fire broke out at 3.30 a.m. The nurses, doctors and other people in the building succeeded to escape, a large number of ill patients suffocated to death in their hospital beds.
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 roads leading to the hospital.
By late evening the death toll was raised to 88. 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 injured were rushed to several hospitals in the city. The bodies, most of them bearing signs of suffocation, piled up at the SSKM Hospital.
The worst fire tragedy in any hospital in India, 88 patients and staffers were killed in Kolkata's well-known AMRI hospital early on Friday, so many helpless patients were trapped while doctors and others ran for safety.
The fire broke out at 3.30 a.m. The nurses, doctors and other people in the building succeeded to escape, a large number of ill patients suffocated to death in their hospital beds.
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 roads leading to the hospital.
By late evening the death toll was raised to 88. 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 injured were rushed to several hospitals in the city. The bodies, most of them bearing signs of suffocation, piled up at the SSKM Hospital.
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