Bhubaneswar hospital fire: Death toll reaches 21

The toll in the Sum Hospital fire rose to 21 on Wednesday with the death of a patient who was undergoing treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.

The toll in the Sum Hospital fire rose to 21 on Wednesday with the death of a patient who was undergoing treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.

Damaged emergency ward of SUM hospital in Bhubaneswar.(PTI Photo)

The deceased, identified as Janakibla Hui, had been shifted to AIIMS soon after the fire ravaged the private medical facility on Monday evening, a spokesperson of AIIMS-Bhubaneswar said.

The woman had earlier been admitted to Sum Hospital reportedly with lung cancer, he said, adding she had been shifted to AIIMS in a critical condition.

Most of the victims, who were on ventilator support, died because of asphyxiation as a thick layer of smoke had enveloped vast areas of Sum Hospital after the fire broke out.

Out of the 21 deaths recorded so far, 14 cases were reported in the Capital Hospital, five at AMRI Hospital and two in AIIMS, officials said.

As many as 106 patients have been shifted from the fire-hit private hospital to different places including Capital Hospital, AIIMS, AMRI Hospital, Kalinga Hospital, KIIMS and Hitech Hospital in Bhubaneswar, while some were sent to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.