Mumbai ESIC hospital fire: Rs 10 lakh compensation announced for families of deceased

Union Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar announced Rs 10 lakh each to the families of those who lost their lives in the fire that broke out at Mumbai's ESIC hospital on Monday. 

According to reports, Rs 2 lakh each will be given to those who have serious injuries and Rs 1 lakh each for those with minor injuries, news agency ANI reported. 

The death toll in the blaze at the hospital rose to eight on Tuesday with over 170 injured, including three firemen. The injured are being treated in different hospitals across the city, news agency PTI reported.

Among those admitted, almost 25 are reported to be critical while 26 were discharged after primary treatment, said the official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) disaster management cell.

While six people had died in the blaze on Monday, two more succumbed to their injuries later in different hospitals, the official said.

Nearly 375 people, including patients and visitors, were in the five-floor hospital during visiting hours when fire and smoke were reported on its fourth floor around 4.03 pm on Monday, according to a fire brigade official.

"The fire was extinguished at 7.35 pm, and hospital authorities shut down the facility till further notice," he said.

"Most of the deceased, including the six-month-old child, died due to suffocation," he said.

"The hospital applied for the final NOC a fortnight ago for its under-construction building adjacent to the old structure that caught fire," he said.

A fire official said the blaze appeared to have erupted after a short-circuit near the rubber rolls stored on the ground floor.

"The rubber rolls are combustible material and they might have caught fire after the short-circuit on the ground floor. The smoke then spread on the upper floors through an open fire duct," he said. The exact cause would be known after an inquiry into the incident, he added.

(With inputs from PTI)