Hospital kills

Most of the victims were patients admitted in critical care and orthopaedic units and were unable to move.

As shocked and traumatised relatives counted the dead,R S Goenka and S K Todi,of the Emami and Shrachi groups respectively,who own the hospital,surrendered to the police by afternoon.

Also arrested were Ravi Goenka,Manish Goenka,Prasanta Goenka and Dayananda Agarwal. All six have been charged with negligence,culpable homicide not amounting to murder and attempt to culpable homicide,a senior police official said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,who is also the Health Minister,visited the hospital,ordered a probe and directed cancellation of licence of the Dhakuria unit of the hospital — it runs three other units across the city in Salt Lake and off the E M Bypass.

The fire,said West Bengal Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim,was first detected at around 3:30 am by “local residents who rushed to the gate but were turned away by security guards following which the fire spread swiftly.”

The fire was suspected to have originated in the electrical department in the basement before it spread swiftly and engulfed the third floor. Fire Services Minister Javed Khan said the fire spread because of stocks of highly combustible material and the “hospital did not have proper fire-fighting equipment.”

Khan said that the doctors,nurses and the hospital staff escaped immediately after fire swept through the floors.

As smoke billowed out,firefighters used ladders withplatforms and smashed window panes to rescue patients trapped inside the Intensive Care Unit,Intensive Therapy Unit and Critical Care Unit. They evacuated patients with pulleys from the upper floors,in many cases using hospital sheets.

Additional Director General,Fire Services,D Biswas said that the fire brigade was informed at 4:10 am and responded immediately but relatives of victims alleged that there was inordinate delay in the rescue operations. Relatives alleged the AMRI staff fled instead of rescuing the patients. Among the casualties were three staff members,AMRI Senior Vice-President S Upadhay said.