Patients trapped in blaze

Kolkata: At least 89 people were killed in a fire that broke out in a private hospital in this city before dawn yesterday.

Most of the fatalities were patients trapped in the 190-bed annexe of the AMRI Hospital.

The fire broke out at around 3am, but firefighters arrived on the scene two hours later, witnesses said.

The hospital's doctors and medical staff reportedly abandoned the patients and fled the burning building.

Fire officials believe the death toll will continue to rise as more people were reported to be inside the building.

According to S. Upadhay, senior vice-president of the AMRI Hospital, there were 160 patients confined in the 190-bed hospital annex at the time the fire struck.

The hospital is jointly owned by the Emami and Sachi Groups.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who rushed to the fire scene to oversee firefighting and rescue efforts, said the hospital's licence has been cancelled.

"It's a very serious offence, and we will take the strongest action. The license of its hospitals have been cancelled," Banerjee said.

"This is serious negligence on the part of the hospital authorities. People admit their loved ones to such costly hospitals believing that they will get well. But here the authorities have murdered them."

Initial reports said the fire started in the basement car park were flammable chemicals and gas were stored.

"More than the reasons of fire, there was severe negligence on the part of authorities and no fire safety regulations were followed. We had to break the glass windows to let the smoke out. The entire basement, which was supposed to be used as a car park, is being used as a storage area, where inflammable liquids and gases were stored," an official said.

Slow response

Chief Minister Banerjee criticised the fire brigade for their slow response to the call for help.

"The firefighters came around 5 in the morning, inspite of repeated calls from us. Had they come a little earlier, more lives could have been saved." Banerjee said that while the fire brigade was delayed, police arrived quickly to help with the rescue effort," she said.

The chief minister said the victims' families will each receive Rs500,000 (Dh35,286) in compensation.

She also promised a government job to a member of each victim's family.

Banerjee ordered government hospitals to open special wards for the victims who survived the fire.

"This is very little and the least the government can do. The government will also bear the cost of treatment of the people who have survived," she said. Two politicians were among the confirmed casualties. Sishir Sen, who was with the Congress legislature in the West Bengal assembly in 1972 and Ajoy Ghosal, a member of the All-India Congress Committee, died of suffocation.