TN: Seven burnt to death in Dindigul private hospital fire
Seven people, including a three-year-old boy, were burnt to death in a private hospital in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, on Thursday night.
Seven people, including two women and a three-year-old child, were dead in a major fire at a private hospital in Dindigul town, 425 km south of Chennai.
The victims were visitors who were trapped in a lift due to snapping of electricity as a precaution to prevent the fire spreading further, Revenue and Fire and Rescue Service officials said. The ortho hospital with four floors was gutted in the fire Thursday night .
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“All the patients, including those in the ICU, have been rescued and shifted to the GH and nearby private hospitals. Six other visitors, trapped in another lift at the hospital, were also rescued. They have been sent for medical check-up,” District Collector MN Poongodi, who visited the spot and oversaw the rescue efforts, told reporters. The District Superintendent of Police also visited and carried out an initial investigation.
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The fire broke out at the ground floor shortly after 9 pm, engulfing three floors with smoke, and on information Fire Service personnel landed at the hospital within 10 minutes.
“Fortunately, a 30-member Fire and Rescue team could reach the spot since a contingent was deployed at Dindigul as a red alert for extreme rainfall had been issued for the district. On landing here, we split into 3 teams and sprang into action. With lifts non-functional, our personnel brought the patients with their bed to safety through the stairs at great risk,” a Fire Service official said.
DMK legislator IP Senthil Kumar, son of Rural Development Minister I Periyasamy, said ‘It was the smoke that engulfed the hospital that made the rescue efforts difficult and challenging. However, the Fire Service had rescued all the patients. The Chief Minister will announce compensation for the victims and the injured.”
Meanwhile, the Electricity Board had ruled out an electric short circuit as the cause for the fire.
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