Fire at AMRI Hospital Kolkatta

At least 73 people - most of them patients - have died in this morning's (Friday Dec 09,2011) huge fire at AMRI hospital in Kolkata. There were 160 people inside the hospital in Dhakuria, south Kolkata, when the fire began.The fire began in the basement, where highly inflammable material was allegedly stored.  Eyewitnesses say they first spotted and reported smoke streaming from the hospital around 3 am, but the first fire engine arrived two hours later.

The fire brigade despatched 25 fire engines, which took time to reach the smoke-engulfed building because of narrow approach roads .Firemen using ladders smashed window panes in the facade to rescue patients trapped inside the ICU, ICCU, ITU and Critical Care units.

 

Out of the 150 people admitted in the hospital, 90 were rescued.

 Police and hospital sources said 70 people had died in the fire
41 of the bodies had been brought to the state-run SSKM Hospital in South Kolkata.20 other bodies are still there in an upper floor of the AMRI hospital.
Families of the victims and the government accuse the privately-owned and posh hospital of ignoring basic fire safety laws - a claim refuted by hospital staff.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation.

 AMRI Hospital's 6 Directors and  2 Officers in Judicial Custody

Chief Judicial Magistrate of Alipore Court S M Shahnawaz sent Sanjib Pal and S Upadhayay, who were in police custody, to judicial custody on a prayer by the prosecution till Jan 05,2012.
Six directors of AMRI Hospital - R S Goenka, S K Todi, Prashant Goenka, Manish Goenka, Ravi Todi and Dayanand Agarwal are already in judicial custody and would be produced before the judge on January 5 along with the two officers.
The state-run SSKM hospital authority, whom the court had directed to medically examine R S Agarwal, another director of the hospital who has claimed illness and at present is admitted at the government facility, is scheduled to submit a report on his health on December 29.
The CJM had allowed the investigating officers to interrogate him at the hospital in the presence of doctors.

All the accused have been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and negligence.

Compensation For Families of 29 Dead

Families of 29 dead in the AMRI hospital fire on Monday Jan 02,2012 received Rs 3 lakh each as compensation from the Kolkata police.Families of the other dead in the December 9 fire disaster would receive an identical amount as compensation in phases after verification of documents,-City Police Commissioner RK Pachnanda said.

Custody of Accused Extended Till Jan 19,2012
Chief Judicial Magistrate of Alipore Court SM Shahnawaz on Thursday Jan 05,2012 rejected bail prayers and extended the judicial custody of six directors and two officers of AMRI Hospital, where 93 people died after inhaling poisonous smoke from a fire, till January 19,2012.
All the six directors were in police custody till December 23 and then sent to judicial remand, while the two officers were in police custody till December 26, following which they were sent to judicial remand.

2 more AMRI directors held in hospital fire case

Two more AMRI directors were held in hospital fire case on Friday. Kolkata police arrested Dr Moni Chhetri, the MD of the company and Dr Pranab Dasgupta, a member of the AMRI Board.Nine directors and four senior officials have been arrested so far in the case.

The fire at the Kolkata-based hospital killed 93 people till January 19,2012.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced compensation of Rs 300,000 for the family members of the victims.