Mumbai: The death toll in the blaze in a government hospital here rose to eight Tuesday, while 176 injured people, including three firemen, are being treated in different hospitals across the city, an official said.
The deceased include a six-month-old girl. Among those admitted, almost 25 are reported to be critical while 26 were discharged after primary treatment, said the official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) disaster management cell.
The 325-bed ESIC (Employees State Insurance Scheme) Kamgar Hospital at Marol in suburban Andheri was constructed in 1970s. Police and hospital authorities have vacated the building, he added.
While six people had died in the blaze on Monday, two more succumbed to their injuries later in different hospitals, the official said.
Nearly 375 people, including patients and visitors, were in the five-floor hospital during visiting hours when fire and smoke were reported on its fourth floor around 4.03 pm on Monday, according to a fire brigade official.
“The fire was extinguished at 7.35 pm, and hospital authorities shut down the facility till further notice,” he said. “Most of the deceased, including the six-month-old child, died due to suffocation,” he said.
A fire official said the blaze appeared to have erupted after a short-circuit near the rubber rolls stored on the ground floor.
The exact cause would be known after an inquiry into the incident, he said. (PTI)
