13 COVID patients die in hospital fire 

MUMBAI:

Thirteen COVID-19 patients died in a fire at the intensive care unit (ICU) of a private hospital in Maharashtra’s Palghar district on Friday, police said.

"The fire broke out on the second floor of the four-storeyed Vijay Vallabh Hospital at Virar shortly after 3:00 am," an official said.

"Firefighters extinguished the blaze at 5:20 am," he added.

There were 17 patients in the ICU when the fire broke out, of which four patients were rescued and shifted to the nearby hospitals in the area.

District Disaster Control Cell chief Vivekanand Kadam said that an explosion in the AC unit of the ICU preceded the Virar hospital fire.

Relatives of the deceased reached the hospital after hearing of the incident and demanded severe action against those responsible for the tragedy.

(Edited by Ridhika Joshi)

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