Hospital fire in Kolkata kills 89,industrialist owner arrested

“As per my announcement that offenders will be arrested,six people,including S K Todi,have been arrested,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters. “Law will take its own course. Those responsible for so many deaths,will be dealt with seriously,” she said.

She said a high-level committee,with representatives from police,fire brigade,Kolkata Municipal Corporation and health department,has been formed to go into the cause of the fire.

As rescuers scrambled to evacuate survivors,police filed a case against the hospital for violating safety procedures. Top government officials vowed to hold the hospital accountable for the tragedy,and began proceedings to cancel its license.

“It’s a very serious offence,and we will take the strongest action,” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said at the scene.

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.

Later in the day,owners of the hospital R S Goenka and S K Todi presented themselves before the police and were extensively questioned before the arrest.

Kolkata Police Commissioner R K Pachnanda announced Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Damayanti Sen would supervise the functioning of the committee.

Besides Todi,the others arrested were R S Goenka,Ravi Goenka,Manish Goenka,Prasanta Goenka and Dayananda Agarwal.

The six have been charged with negligence,culpable homicide not amounting to murder and attempt to culpable homicide,a senior police official said.

S Upadhay,a senior vice president of the AMRI hospital,announced Rs 5 lakh compensation to the kin of the dead and said expenses of those injured would be completely borne by the company.

Firefighters on long ladders smashed windows in the upper floors of the AMRI Hospital to pull trapped patients out before they suffocated,while sobbing relatives waited on the street below. Rescue workers took some patients on stretchers and in wheelchairs to a nearby hospital.

Moon Moon Chakraborty,who was in the hospital with a broken ankle,called her husband at home to tell him a fire had broken out. “She had died by the time I reached the hospital,” her husband,S Chakraborty said. An FIR has been filed against hospital authorities.

The blaze erupted in the building’s basement,and heavy smoke quickly engulfed the hospital. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Upadhay said there were 160 patients in the 190-bed hospital annex at the time of the blaze.

It took firefighters more than an hour to arrive after the blaze started,said Pradeep Sarkar,a witness. His uncle was hospitalised hours earlier after suffering a heart attack at home,and he was moved to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Additional Director General,Fire Services,D Biswas,however,said the fire brigade was informed at 4:10 am and they responded immediately. Biswas said patients who died were admitted in the critical care and orthopaedic units and could not be moved.

He said if proper fire fighting arrangements existed at the hospital,such a fire could not have taken place.

The narrow streets in the neighbourhood apparently made it difficult for the unwieldy fire trucks to get close to the building. Banerjee said that while the fire brigade was delayed,police arrived quickly to help with the rescue effort.

Dozens of fire engines eventually arrived at the hospital. By mid-morning,the fire was under control and most of the patients had been evacuated to other hospitals in the area,said Javed Khan,the state fire services minister.

The narrow streets in the neighbourhood apparently made it difficult for the unwieldy fire trucks to get close to the building and for fire fighters to bring in the big hydraulic ladders needed to evacuate those trapped inside. Eventually,they smashed the main gate to make way for the ladders.

But state officials said the hospital staff did nothing to aid in the rescue operations. Not all patients said they were abandoned. Jyoti Chaudhary,a patient in his late 60s,was lucky to survive. “With the help of a hospital worker,I came down the staircase and later was moved to a nearby hospital.”

“It was horrifying that the hospital authorities did not make any effort to rescue trapped patients,” said Subrata Mukherjee,state minister for public health engineering. “Senior hospital authorities ran away after the fire broke out.”

Firhad Hakeem,urban development minister,said the hospital basement was being used as a storage area,although it was originally planned as a parking lot.

The fire at the seven-storey annexe building of the hospital was detected around 3.30 am by local people who rushed to the gates,but were driven away by the security guards,following which the fire spread swiftly,Hakim said.

Some of them raised an alarm,but security guards kept them back,saying there was a small fire in the kitchen and there was nothing to worry about. As the smoke enveloped the building,the slum dwellers joined in the rescue effort.

Sudipta Nundy,a local resident,said his brother-in-law Amitabha Das was being treated for an infection at the hospital. He died by the time rescuers arrived at his smoke-filled ward. “He would have survived had hospital authorities allowed outsiders in early to evacuate the patients,” he said.

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

Upadhay claimed the hospital followed strict fire safety measures and conducted regular fire drills. “All statutory safety and fire licences are in place.”

Banerjee said the hospital has been closed and would be sealed by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation after completion of rescue operations.

The previous Left Front government had given up its 93 per cent share of the total land for setting up the hospital,Banerjee said.

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

PM expresses grief over loss of lives

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today expressed “shock and anguish” over the loss of lives in the massive fire and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.

Singh also conveyed his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the tragedy,a PMO spokesman said.

“Prime Minister expresses shock and anguish over the loss of lives in the hospital fire in Kolkata,” the spokesman said.

Besides the ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased,he sanctioned Rs 50,000 to each of those seriously injured.