At least six people,
including a boy, lost their lives in a fire at a private hospital in Chennai on
Thursday,12 Dec police and Fire
Department officials said. The incident took place on Thursday night at the
City Hospital on Trichy Road.
The victims were found
unconscious in a lift and were immediately transported to a nearby hospital,
where they were pronounced dead by doctors.
The cause of death was determined to be
suffocation, and Fire and Rescue
Services personnel discovered the victims after evacuating around 30 patients
from the hospital. The evacuated individuals were then admitted to the
district's Government Hospital, officials said.
"A fire broke out
at a private hospital about two hours ago. The patients here have been rescued
and admitted to nearby government and private hospitals," Dindigul
District Collector MN Poongodi told news agency ANI.
Initial investigations
by the police suggest the fire may have been caused by an electrical short circuit. TV footage showed smoke and flames rising from
the hospital, with fire trucks deployed to control the blaze.