From fire tragedy at a pub in Lower Parel area of Mumbai, train mishaps to bridge collapse, 2017 saw it all. As the year is coming to an end, here’s a list of main tragedies that hogged the limelight in 2017:
Mumbai pub fire:
At least 14 people were killed and and 19 others injured after a major fire broke out in a building in Kamala Mills Compound in Mumbai’s Lower Parel area.
The fire broke out shortly after, midnight at the ‘1 Above’ pub and quickly spread to ‘Mojo Bistro’ pub on the third floor.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday suspended five of its officials in connection with the fire accident.
Elphinstone bridge collapse:
On 29 September 2017, around 23 people died in a stampede at Elphinstone Railway station’s foot over-bridge in Mumbai. The accident occurred on the bridge connecting Elphinstone Road and Parel suburban stations at around 10.30 am during peak rush hour.
The cause of the stampede on the narrow foot over bridge was not known, but eyewitnesses claimed that a sudden rumour of a suspected electrical short-circuit sparked off a panic.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced a compensation of Rs.5 lakh for the next of kin of the 22 people who died in the Mumbai stampede.
Gorakhpur hospital infants’ deaths:
Sixty one children, mostly newborns, died in 72 hours at BRD Medical College Hospital in Gorakhpur, where 70 infant deaths had been reported earlier, from various causes including oxygen shortage.
The BRD Medical College Hospital is one of the biggest government hospitals in Uttar Pradesh and has specialised facility to treat neo-natal and pediatric encephalitis.
With widespread criticism of the manner in which the hospital dealt with the issue, Uttar Pradesh government suspended hospital’s principal, RK Mishra, for “negligent behaviour” after which he resigned. The head of encephalitis ward at the hospital, Kafeel Khan, was removed as the nodal officer.
Jamshedpur hospital tragedy:
In August 2017, around 52 infants died in 30 days at Jamshedpur’s Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College hospital in Jharkhand.
The hospital superintendent blamed malnutrition for the deaths. Thirty-eight of the 40 infant deaths in NICU were due to low birth weight, other deaths were due to premature births and other complications like asphyxia, the most common reason for low weight babies is malnutrition in mothers.
The hospital was established on November 14, 1961. It was undertaken by the Government of Bihar in the year 1979. Since 2010, the college has been affiliated to Chaibasa’s Kolhan University.
Kuneru train accident:
On 21 January 2017, a scheduled passenger train from Jagdalpur to Bhubaneswar, derailed near the village of Kuneru in Vizianagaram Andhra Pradesh, India, killing 41 people and injuring 68 others. The train was carrying 600 passengers.
The diesel engine of the train and nine cars derailed and collided with a freight train on a parallel track.
According to a district fire department official, some of the casualties were a result of a stampede within the train as passengers tried to flee after the crash.
India Railways announced Rs 2 lakh compensation to the families of those killed in the crash and Rs 50,000 to injured passengers.