International News

NEW DELHI, Oct 17 (APP/AFP): At least 19 people were killed Monday when a fire broke out at a leading private hospital in an eastern Indian city, police said, with officials warning the death toll could rise. More than 40 critically ill patients were trapped in an intensive care ward by the blaze, which is believed to have been triggered by an electric short circuit on the second floor of the SUM hospital building in Bhubaneswar, the capital of coastal Odisha state. “We can confirm 19 deaths in the incident,” Bhubaneswar police commissioner Yogesh Khurania told AFP. “More than 100 patients have been shifted to other hospitals. Many of them are critical and the death toll may rise further,” he said. Khurania said initial reports suggested that most of the victims had died due to smoke inhalation, with toxic smoke filling the entire floor of the building and hampering rescue efforts.