Mumbai: Level-3 fire at ESIC Kamgar Hospital claims 8; over 140 rescued

A six-month-old baby is among eight killed in a level-3 fire that broke out at ESIC Kamgar Hospital in Mumbai’s Andheri on Monday afternoon. So far more than 140 people have been rescued.

Notably, six were killed on Monday and two died this morning. While one of the dead is a woman who fell from a crane while being rescued, most of the deaths were allegedly due to suffocation. According to the reports, a few of the injured are very critical.

The patients have been shifted to various hospitals including Cooper, Holy Spirit Hospital, P Thackeray Trauma Hospital, Hiranandani, Siddharth and Seven Hills hospital.

On Monday at around 4 pm, the fire broke out at the government-run ESIC Kamgar Hospital located at Marol in suburban Andheri. Immediately, locals alerted the police and fire tenders. At least ten fire engines were sent to the spot as efforts began to evacuate the patients.

The cause of the fire is not known yet though a short circuit is suspected. According to NDTV, the ESIC Kamgar Hospital recently failed a fire safety check. Whether the hospital had an official fire safety audit is being investigated.

In October, a level-3 fire broke out in a slum at Lalmati, opposite Bandra Fire Station on Nagardas Road in Mumbai.

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