Fire kills at least 13 Covid patients in hospital in western India

Government orders an investigation and announces financial aid to kin of deceased

Health workers move a suspected Covid-19 patient outside the Vijay Vallabh hospital in the aftermath of a fire (EPA)

At least 13 Covid-19 patients have died after a fire broke out at the intensive care unit of a hospital in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. 

The fire was reported from the Vijay Vallabh hospital in the Virar area on the outskirts of Mumbai. There were a total of 17 patients who were undergoing treatment in the ICU at the time of the blaze.

District disaster control cell chief, Vivekanand Kadam, told news agency PTI that the fire was preceded by an explosion in the air conditioning unit of the ICU.

India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, expressed grief and called the fire “tragic.” He also approved an ex-gratia of £1,921 each for the next of kin of those who lost their lives and £480 for those who were seriously injured in the fire. 

Maharashtra chief minister, Uddhav Thackeray, has ordered an investigation into the fire. “The administration has been instructed to see whether the appropriate fire safety measures were taken in the hospital and conduct a proper inquiry in it,” Mr Thackeray said, according to The Indian Express. 

He has also announced financial aid of £4,803 for the kin of the deceased and £960 for those critically injured. 

Dilip Shah, CEO of Vijay Vallabh hospital, said the fire was extinguished and some patients requiring oxygen were moved to nearby hospitals. 

Angry family members demanded that strict action be taken against those responsible for the blaze.

The fire comes just two days after at least 22 Covid-19 patients died after their oxygen supply was affected due to a leakage in the main storage tank of a hospital in Nashik, another city in Maharashtra. Officials had said the lid of the oxygen tank had malfunctioned while refilling the tanks. 

Maharashtra, which is one of the worst affected states, on Thursday reported 67,013 new coronavirus cases, pushing its tally past 4 million. The death toll rose by 568 to 62,479. 

The sudden spike in Covid-19 cases has overwhelmed the health care system in India. Hospitals have reported a dire shortage of medical oxygen and hospital beds, and asked the central government for help. 

Giridhar Babu, professor of epidemiology at Public Health Foundation of India, told Reuters that the role of more infectious variants in different parts of the country cannot be ruled out.

He also said that available evidence indicates the ‘double mutant’ is mostly prevalent in the state of Maharashtra.