Death toll in Sum Hospital fire crosses 21

The deceased, identified as Janakibla Hui, had been shifted to AIIMS after fire ravaged the private medical facility

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 Bhubaneswar.

The deceased, identified as Janakibla Hui, had been shifted to AIIMS soon after the devastating fire ravaged the private medical facility on Monday evening, a spokesman 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, perished 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.