SUM Hospitals fire mishap toll touches 25

The toll in Odisha's SUM Hospitals fire mishap rose to 25 on Friday, said a health official here.

While two persons died from their injuries on Thursday night, two others died on Friday.

Annapurna Samantaroy of Bhandarikuda village of Puri district died at AMRI hospital here and Sheikh Qurban of Khurda undergoing treatment at SCB Medical College and Hospital died on Friday, said the official.

On Thursday night, Biswanath Behera of Dumduma area in Bhubaneswar and Rashmita Swain of Balipada area in Puri also died. Two more injured persons succumbed to their injuries earlier in the week.

Nineteen patients died on Monday when the fire broke out in the hospital.

As many as 106 patients were shifted to different hospitals following the major fire that started in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the dialysis ward at SUM Hospitals on Monday evening.

The Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate Police arrested four hospital officials on Tuesday, and the owner, Manoj Nayak, on Thursday and secured his two-day remand.

Nayak was to be grilled over the renewal of registration and the lack of fire safety measures in his hospital, the police said.

The kin of each of the person killed in the fire would receive a compensation of Rs 12 lakh, which includes Rs 5 lakh from the hospital and Rs 5 lakh from State government.

Besides, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.

--IANS

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