89 killed in AMRI hospital fire; six board members arrested

Mtoday news / NDTV

Kolkata, Dec 9 : Six board members of the AMRI hospital in Kolkata have been arrested for culpable homicide after this morning’s fire in which 89 people died, most of them patients. The board members - reported to also be the owners of the hospital - voluntarily surrendered at a local police station.

There were 160 people inside the hospital in Dhakuria, south Kolkata, when the fire began at about 3 am.

 

 

Families of the victims and the government accuse the privately-owned and posh hospital of ignoring basic fire safety laws; they also say that after the fire began, doctors and staff members abandoned patients, many of who were immobile.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said this morning’s tragedy was "an unforgivable crime" and vowed "the harshest punishment possible" for those found responsible. "As per my announcement that offenders will be arrested, six persons, including SK Todi, have been arrested," Ms Banerjee told reporters. "Law will take its own course. Those responsible for so many deaths will be dealt with seriously," she said. Ms Banerjee said the fire services authorities and the police had cautioned the AMRI Hospital authorities in September about its basement. "AMRI had given an undertaking, but did not keep it," she said.

The licence of the hospital has been cancelled. A First Information Report or FIR has also been filed, which launches a criminal case. "It was horrifying that the hospital authorities did not make any effort to rescue trapped patients," said Subrata Mukherjee, West Bengal state minister for public health engineering. "Senior hospital authorities ran away after the fire broke out."

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.

 

 

 

Additional Director General, Fire Services, D Biswas said that the fire brigade was informed at 4:10 AM and responded immediately.Biswas said that patients who died were admitted in the critical care and orthopaedic units and were unable to move.  He said if proper fire fighting arrangements existed at the hospital, such a fire could not have taken place.

Disaster Management Minister Javed Khan said that the National Disaster Response Force team would be arriving shortly to determine if there was radioactive leakage from the oncology department.

 

 

 

Senior Vice President of AMRI S Upadhay said there were 160 patients in the annexe building at the time of the fire.Upadhay claimed that the hospital followed strict fire safety measures and conducted regular fire drills. “All statutory safety and fire licences are in place.” He announced Rs 5 lakh as compensation for the next of kin of those who died, while those injured would be treated free at the hospital.

Of the 46 bodies, 42 were taken to the SSKM, 2 to the AMRI Salt Lake and one each to AMRI Mukundapur and state-run M R Bangur Hospital.The Disaster Management Minister said that the chief minister had directed lodging of an FIR against the AMRI Hospital authorities.

 

 

The state government has ordered an inquiry into the incident.Hakim said that 250 firemen in 25 fire engines battled the blaze and smoke with a police cordon thrown around the hospital.

Family members of patients vandalised the reception counter aggrieved that no list of the dead and injured was provided.They smashed glass panes at the reception and threw away hospital registers.

Governor M K Narayanan expressed shock and hoped that the state government would take necessary steps to identify the causes of the fire and initiate appropriate action.