Global News Post: Disaster

More Than 32 Killed in Indian Train Fire

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">By VOA News<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie8EmU1CPK7E0sBOHuKqBtrogH96RmyuzBYJCZa32BVQaPlL-1VQD6mgKsTqp5OH94eOnsg6CkMHQsD4TqvOYd9xacKAoXgZiWiXFUg6_f7kg2MZdV0Dxv4VPLkSwxyhQsHD1LNsiM6D0/s1600/2012073013130822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie8EmU1CPK7E0sBOHuKqBtrogH96RmyuzBYJCZa32BVQaPlL-1VQD6mgKsTqp5OH94eOnsg6CkMHQsD4TqvOYd9xacKAoXgZiWiXFUg6_f7kg2MZdV0Dxv4VPLkSwxyhQsHD1LNsiM6D0/s640/2012073013130822.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Fire fighter and rescue teams rescue passengers from a train that caught fire in Nellore on 30 July 2012. The train was completely gutted in the fire,railway officals said. The coach had 72 passengers. Photo courtesy agencies---NNN<o:p></o:p></span></div></td></tr>
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Authorities say more than 32 people are dead and more than 22 burned after a fire broke out on a passenger train in southern India.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The fire on the long-distance service from New Delhi to Chennai apparently started in one coach during the early morning hours of Monday while most of the passengers slept.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">An official at a train station noticed the fire as the train passed through.  The train was stopped near the town of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh state and the coach was detached to prevent the spread of flames.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but authorities suspect it was caused by a short circuit.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

More Than 32 Killed in Indian Train Fire

By VOA News Fire fighter and rescue teams rescue passengers from a train that caught fire in Nellore on 30 July 2012. The train was c...

Fire at 300-Year-Old Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City

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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikiruZUc1o7-OUkD40dtQ4bBuPAzpGALfgCdVJIomn94KEVEWeAN08uHdh7mHyq4novFHv9EVa1855TB9Z3mx84vOAzPv9IUhoVjHERnWU5PnbSPzyFTmOsUkfc4at87DOCHvA1KRkV2o/s1600/2012072014383855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikiruZUc1o7-OUkD40dtQ4bBuPAzpGALfgCdVJIomn94KEVEWeAN08uHdh7mHyq4novFHv9EVa1855TB9Z3mx84vOAzPv9IUhoVjHERnWU5PnbSPzyFTmOsUkfc4at87DOCHvA1KRkV2o/s1600/2012072014383855.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NNN--- Items of worship, including a Buddha statue dating back hundreds of years, were reduced to ash on 17 July 2012 when a fire broke out at an 18th-century pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Buddhists were preparing for a ceremonial offering at Hoi Son pagoda when the power went out and they discovered the fire in the nave of the pagoda, according to Venerable Thich Thien Hao. Extinguishing the fire was difficult because the pagoda is on a hill. Investigation of the fire cause is ongoing. The pagoda was listed as a national architecture relic in 1993. Photo courtesy baomoi.com---NNN<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Fire at 300-Year-Old Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City

NNN--- Items of worship, including a Buddha statue dating back hundreds of years, were reduced to ash on 17 July 2012 when a fire broke o...

India Condoles Death of 15 People in Nepal Air Crash

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NNN--- Eleven Indian pilgrims were among 15 people killed when a private plane carrying 21 people crashed in northern Nepal after hitting a hilltop while trying to land at high-altitude Jomsom airport (200 kilometres (125 miles) North West of the capital, Kathmandu). Official said there were six survivors, including two children who were rescued. Photo courtesy article.wn.com<o:p></o:p></span></div></td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NEW DELHI (NNN-Xinhua) -- India condoled the death of 15 people including 13 Indians in a plane crash at a mountain in northern Nepal on Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"I am deeply saddened to hear about the tragic air crash that occurred earlier this morning near Jomsom airport in Nepal," Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said in a message.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"I would like to convey my deep condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives in the accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who have lost their near and dear ones," he added.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu has set up a round-the-clock helpline to provide information about the crash.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A dornier aircraft, carrying 21 people, crashed as it tried to land at Jomsom airport considered to be one of the most dangerous airstrips in the world. While 15 people died on the spot, six passengers miraculously survived. -- NNN-XINHUA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India Condoles Death of 15 People in Nepal Air Crash

NNN--- Eleven Indian pilgrims were among 15 people killed when a private plane carrying 21 people crashed in northern Nepal after hitting...

Indonesian Authorities Search for Missing Russian Plane

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Indonesia has deployed search and rescue teams to a mountainous area near Jakarta, in search of a Russian jetliner that disappeared from radar Wednesday with at least 44 people on board.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The Jakarta Post newspaper quotes authorities as saying ground teams, including military units, were headed from the capital to remote Mount Salak, after search helicopters encountered bad weather and were forced to return to base.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Authorities say the Sukhoi Superjet 100 vanished while on a demonstration flight shortly after 2 p.m. local time. All passengers were described as invited guests. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Indonesia's transport ministry said the 100-seat, mid-range jetliner was on the second of two demonstration flights when it disappeared in the remote Bogor region.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Officials said the pilots had requested permission to descend from 3,000 to 1,800 meters shortly before radio contact was lost. Mount Salak is 2,200 meters high.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The Itar-Tass news agency said the newly-minted plane recently performed demonstrations in Central and South Asia, including flights in Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Burma. It also said the Superjet 100 had logged about 6,500 hours of flight time since its 2008 maiden launch.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The jetliner is currently in use with Russia's largest carrier, Aeroflot, and the Armenian carrier, Armavia. ---VOA News</span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div></div>

Indonesian Authorities Search for Missing Russian Plane

Indonesia has deployed search and rescue teams to a mountainous area near Jakarta, in search of a Russian jetliner that disappeared from ...

India: Eight Bogies of Punjab Mail Derailed; 19 Injured

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</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">ROHTAK, India (NNN-UNI) -- As many as 19 people were injured when eight bogies of Punjab Mail were derailed in this district of Haryana today.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Police said the incident occurred at about 0350 hrs near Kharavad village when the Punjab Mail was going from Ferozepur to Mumbai.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The 19 people, who sustained minor injuries in the derailment, were taken to PGIMS hospital in Rohtak.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Railway sources said about 300 mt long track of the Railway line was damaged due to the accident.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The train later left for New Delhi after rescue work was completed. --NNN-UNI<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India: Eight Bogies of Punjab Mail Derailed; 19 Injured

ROHTAK, India (NNN-UNI) -- As many as 19 people were injured when eight bogies of Punjab Mail were derailed in this district of Haryana ...

India: Assam’s CM Vows to Crack down on Ferries after Tragedy

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Assam state Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has ordered police to crack down on excessive load of ferries and buses following a ferry tragedy in the northeast Indian state on Monday, local media said Thursday. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Survivors of the incident at Medartari in lower Dhubri, Western Assam alleged that the ferry which capsized and sank after meeting a cyclonic storm on the Brahmaputra River had carried an excess load of passengers and goods, Xinhua news agency reported. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Official figures said there were 133 persons on the ferry but survivors claimed that some 400 persons were on board.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Disaster management authorities said 21 bodies had been recovered with 42 others still missing as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">News reports said 70 passengers have been rescued so far. – NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India: Assam’s CM Vows to Crack down on Ferries after Tragedy

NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Assam state Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has ordered police to crack down on excessive load of ferries a...

Death Toll Rises to 81 in Indian Hospital Fire

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;"><span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:city w:st="on"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">NEW DELHI</span></span></st1:city><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;"> (NNN-Xinhua) -- The death toll from the massive fire Friday which turned a hospital building into a chimney in the eastern Indian city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kolkata</st1:place></st1:city> has risen to 81, said media reports.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">In what is described as the worst fire tragedy in any hospital in India, 78 patients and three staffers were killed, mostly suffocating to death, in poisonous thick smoke in Kolkata's well- known AMRI private hospital, said the reports.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">"The victims mostly got suffocated from the fumes," Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Hakim told the media.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">The fire which broke out at dawn from a basement trapped 160 patients, including 50 critically ill, in the seven-storied air- conditioned building.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">Throughout the day, patients, some dead and others barely alive, were brought out by fire fighters, while desperate relatives blamed the state and hospital administration for slowness in the rescue operation, said the Indo-Asian News Service.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed grief and announced compensation of 200,000 rupees (4,000 U.S. dollars) each to the families of those killed.--NNN-XINHUA<o:p></o:p></span></span></div></div>

Death Toll Rises to 81 in Indian Hospital Fire

NEW DELHI (NNN-Xinhua) -- The death toll from the massive fire Friday which turned a hospital building into a chimney in the eastern In...

India: Over 70 Killed In Kolkata Hospital Fire, 'Owners Missing'

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">KOLKATA (NNN-AGENCIES): A firefighter smashes glass windows of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">AMRI</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Hospital</st1:placetype></st1:place> nursing home as he searches for survivors after a fire broke out in Kolkata.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">At least 70 patients suffocated to death when a massive fire broke out in a centrally-airconditioned seven-storey private hospital in the metropolis today. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Police and hospital sources said 70 people had died in the fire at the private 190-bed <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">AMRI</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Hospital</st1:placetype></st1:place> at Dhakuria in related stories<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Earlier, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said 41 of the bodies had been brought to the state-run <st1:placename w:st="on">SSKM</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Hospital</st1:placetype> in <st1:place w:st="on">South Kolkata</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">"Twenty other bodies are still there in an upper floor of the AMRI hospital," she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Of the bodies taken to SSKM, autopsies have been completed on 36. "Twelve have been identified," she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The chief minister said the colour photos of the faces of the unidentified victims will be displayed outside the SSKM morgue.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">"After identification, we will send the bodies in hearses to their homes."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">On the basis of a first information report (FIR) lodged by the fire brigade, police had started a criminal case against the hospital management. "They will be arrested. We will take strict action against the hospital," she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">However, sources said that the top management of the hospital has already gone underground.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Banerjee also promised Rs.3 lakh if family members of the victims, who are not well-off, made an appeal. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">"If anybody appeals for a government job. We will also try to help them out."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This is the worst incident of fire in the history of <st1:place w:st="on">Bengal</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The hospital authorities have issued a press statement saying that they would pay Rs 2 lakh to the family of the deceased.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Many more are believed to be trapped in the building, even as firemen, who many complained had reached the spot only after two hours, brought out the dead and injured using ropes and ladders.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The fire broke out around 3.30am in the basement of the hospital annexe. Co-founded by the Emami & Shrachi Groups along with the <st1:place w:st="on">West  Bengal</st1:place> government in 1996, the hospital is located in the congested Dhakuria locality.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">"The victims mostly got suffocated from the fumes. Many of them were in a serious condition in the ICU," <st1:place w:st="on">West Bengal</st1:place> urban development minister Firhad Hakim said, adding that some firemen fell unconscious due to the fumes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">"The father of one of my friends was admitted in one of the upper floors. When he heard I am at the spot he called up his son and told him to ask me to rescue him. I could not do anything. I saw his burnt body," said the minister who reached the spot early.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">There are around 200 beds in the affected block.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">"At the time of the fire, there were 160 patients, including around 40-50, in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit). Eighty percent have been rescued," a hospital spokesman said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Fire services minister Javed Khan, who is supervising the rescue operations, said: "Some more people are believed to have been trapped. We have already rescued over 50 people." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">An officer manning the city police control room said the fire spread fast and engulfed four floors of the building. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">"The fire is under control but yet to be doused completely. My men are putting out fire in one spot only to find another area in flames. There is a lot of combustible material," said Khan.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Alleging that the firefighting was hindered due to lack of cooperation from the hospital authorities, a local resident said: "We were not allowed to enter early in the morning. Had we been allowed, more lives could have been saved."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The hospital has two other blocks in the complex where some of the patients rescued from the affected block have been transferred.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Around 25 fire engines had been rushed to the spot. The fire fighters were seen using hydraulic ladders to rescue the patients and office staffs by cutting open the glasses with gas cutters.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">A patient in his 50s admitted in the second floor of the affected building said he was brought down by breaking the glass windows. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">"Around 4 a.m. when I had gone to the toilet I heard nurses saying that a portion of the building has caught fire. But they did not help me. Finally along with some other patients I came near a window. Then the fire brigade personnel came and rescued me by breaking open the glass windows."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">"I tried to bring all my medical papers but they slipped out of my hands. I have lost them," said the sobbing patient.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Another patient said: "There was smoke. I helped many of the patients come out of their wards. But I could not bring out two seriously ill patients."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Hundreds of relatives of the patients admitted in the hospital were seen weeping and pleading with the firemen and disaster management personnel for news of their dear ones.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">"We came to the hospital at the crack of dawn when we got to hear of the fire from television. We don't know what has happened to our family member," said a patient's relative.-NNN-AGENCIES<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India: Over 70 Killed In Kolkata Hospital Fire, 'Owners Missing'

KOLKATA (NNN-AGENCIES): A firefighter smashes glass windows of the AMRI Hospital nursing home as he searches for survivors after a fir...