Hospital fire kills 18 COVID patients in India
May 1, 2021
At least 18 coronavirus patients were killed as a fire broke out in a hospital in western India, police said early Saturday.
Hospital workers and firefighters rescued dozens of other patients at the hospital in Bharuch, a town in Gujarat state. The rescued patients were in a stable condition, the Associated Press quoted police officer B.M Parmar as saying.
The fire broke out at around 1:00 a.m. local time (0730 UTC) in a COVID-19 ward on the ground floor. Responders extinguished the fire within an hour, police said.
Patients were being shifted to nearby hospitals, according to the Asia News International agency.
Earlier this month, 13 COVID-19 patients were killed in a fire in an intensive care unit in the Virar area on the outskirts of Mumbai.
India's COVID crisis
India recorded over 400,000 new coronavirus cases on Saturday. The country has accumulated more than 208,000 COVID-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
Hospitals around India have struggled with shortages of beds and medical supplies.
More than 40 countries have committed to sending vital medical aid to hard-hit India.
fb/aw (AP, AFP, dpa, LUSA)