Over 147 people, mostly patients and staff were rescued from the massive blaze that engulfed the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Hospital in Andheri (East) on Monday.
The death toll in the fire that broke out at a Mumbai hospital rose to nine on Tuesday. Over 147 people, mostly patients and staff were rescued from the massive blaze that engulfed the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Hospital in Andheri (East) on Monday.
A two-month-old baby was also among those dead.
More than 176 people have been injured in the accident. The injured which includes three firemen are being treated in different hospitals in the city.
Among those admitted, almost 25 are reported to be critical while 26 were discharged after primary treatment, said the official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) disaster management cell.
Mumbai Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar said it was under investigation.
"At present, our priority is to ensure patients sent to hospitals get proper treatment," the mayor said.
Some of the injured were discharged, while the others were undergoing treatment in different hospitals with some of them in the ICU, he said.
According to another civic official, over 160 patients were admitted in the hospital at the time of the blaze.
Milind Ogle, the deputy chief fire officer of the MIDC area, told PTI, "Our team had found some lacunae in an under-construction building coming up adjacent to the hospital and suggested their rectification."
"The hospital administration was in the process of complying with our suggestions. Meanwhile, this incident took place in the old hospital building," Ogle said.
The 325-bed hospital was constructed in the 1970s, the officials said, adding police and hospital authorities have vacated the building till further notice.
Fire brigade personnel had to break the glasses of the building's facade to evacuate stranded patients, they said.
Additional Commissioner of Police Manoj Sharma said an inquiry will be launched in association with the fire brigade department to ascertain the cause of the fire.
Nearly 375 people, including patients and visitors, were in the five-floor hospital during visiting hours when fire and smoke were reported on its fourth floor around 4.03 pm on Monday, according to a fire brigade official.
"The fire was extinguished at 7.35 pm, and hospital authorities shut down the facility till further notice," he said.
"Most of the deceased, including the six-month-old child, died due to suffocation," he said.
Several women who recently delivered babies managed to save their newborns by rushing out of the building while wrapping the children in their arms, he said.
The building's glass facade posed a hindrance as it blocked air passage and firemen had to break the glasses on all the floors to evacuate those stranded inside, he said.
Milind Ogle, the deputy chief fire officer of the MIDC area, said the hospital doesn't have the final no-objection certificate for fire compliance.
"The hospital applied for the final NOC a fortnight ago for its under-construction building adjacent to the old structure that caught fire," he said.
"When our team visited the hospital to inspect the conditions for fire compliance, it found certain shortcomings in the installations and it was communicated to the hospital administration," Ogle said.
While reviewing fire compliance norms for the new building, the team also noticed some lacunae in the old hospital building, he said. "So we refused to issue the full and final fire NOC to the old building also," he added.
Hospital medical superintendent Dr Rakesh Sharma said everything happened suddenly. A hospital staffer received injuries on his arm when he jumped out of the building to save his life, he added.
A fire official said the blaze appeared to have erupted after a short-circuit near the rubber rolls stored on the ground floor.
"The rubber rolls are combustible material and they might have caught fire after the short-circuit on the ground floor. The smoke then spread on the upper floors through an open fire duct," he said. The exact cause would be known after an inquiry into the incident, he said.
Meanwhile, Union Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar Monday announced Rs 10 lakh each as compensation for the kin of those who died in the massive fire at ESIC Hospital, Mumbai, a statement said.
"Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Labour & Employment, Santosh Kumar Gangwar announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the families of those who lost their lives in the accident, Rs 2 lakh each for those who have serious injuries and Rs 1 lakh each for those with minor injuries," a labour ministry statement said.
Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Tuesday spoke to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Gangwar over the incident. CM Fadnavis has ordered inquiry over the incident. He also spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and briefed him regarding the accident.
(With PTI inputs)
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