India hospital fire deaths rise to 88; 6 arrested
A hospital staff member is rescued as fire engulfs hospital in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata.
December 9th, 2011
01:07 PM ET

India hospital fire deaths rise to 88; 6 arrested

[Updated at 1:07 p.m. ET] Investigators have arrested six hospital managers after a fire that killed at least 88 people in a hospital Friday in eastern India.

The six worked at a five-story hospital in the city of Kolkata, said Javed Ahmed Khan, the West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services minister.

They were arrested for negligence, Khan said.

A "majority" of the bed-ridden patients were abandoned by most of the staff on duty, he said.

Video of the scene broadcast by CNN affiliate CNN-IBN showed crowds of people wearing face masks and rushing patients out onto the street in stretchers.

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soundoff (26 Responses)
  1. Jeff Frank (R-Ohio) "Right Wing Insanity"

    Sprint will give 'em a job.

    December 9, 2011 at 9:18 am | Report abuse |
  2. Jeff Frank (R-Ohio) "Right Wing Insanity"

    Not the sharpest tools in the shed.

    December 9, 2011 at 9:20 am | Report abuse |
  3. Joey Isotta-Fraschini

    If someone had told me only that this happened "in a hospital," my first scenario would have taken place in a large USA city, not in another country.

    December 9, 2011 at 10:22 am | Report abuse |
  4. BOMBO

    This reminds me of that story a few years ago, when a bunch of passengers woke up on a cruise ship in the Mediterranian to find the ship listing to one side and the crew gone. Apparently they evacuated overnight when they noticed the ship was sinking, but didn't bother waking the passengers. I will say though, put in the position of these hospital workers, a fire is a pretty urgent situation and it would be hard to fight the temptation to just get out while you can.

    December 9, 2011 at 10:29 am | Report abuse |
  5. krm1007

    I feel so sorry for the helpless patients. May they rest in peace. These staff members are typical of Indian hindus....cowards !! They did not even try to save the patients. Look at that joker jumping out the window like a thief and the yellow belly...oooops....helmet- guy seems afraid of heights !!!! India needs to taken out of medieval ages and brought into the modern fold.

    December 9, 2011 at 10:47 am | Report abuse |
  6. BOMBO

    krm1007, take your hatred of Indians to some white supremacist notice board. We don't need it here.

    December 9, 2011 at 11:16 am | Report abuse |
  7. saywhat

    @ ernest and@ Baboo Ragneesh – its apparent you pose as an Indian

    This hate against other cultures is repulsive and exhibits the low form of those who harbor it. This is a terrible tragedy & I feel for the victims & their families.

    December 9, 2011 at 1:04 pm | Report abuse |
  8. Where is nsaidi?

    Come on CNN. You have been doing pretty well the last couple of days on cleaning up these comments. The majority of comments above are trolls being disgusting and having a blatant disregard for loss of human life. Do something!

    December 9, 2011 at 1:40 pm | Report abuse |
    • nsaidi

      Hey there, there's a lot going on here at CNN and we try to look at these things as soon as possible. Thanks for letting us know about an issue you've spotted. In the meantime, try not to fan the fire too much if you see such comments. And whatever you do, don't take these remarks personally or allow yourself to get upset. You can e-mail me directly at first.last@turner.com if you see a problem and we'll check it out as time permits.

      December 9, 2011 at 3:01 pm | Report abuse |
  9. banasy©

    @saywhat:
    Of course it wasn't any of us that posted it.

    Miss Saidi is doing her best. Trust me.

    December 9, 2011 at 2:01 pm | Report abuse |
  10. chrissy

    well nicole since im the one mostly being targeted or rather my son, explain to me please why my comments are the ones *awaiting moderation please*

    December 9, 2011 at 3:06 pm | Report abuse |
    • nsaidi

      Please do not worry, I'm removing everything from the prior thread. You can e-mail me at first.last@turner.com if you'd like to discuss it further. We also have auto-filters that sometimes catch the wrong things.

      December 9, 2011 at 3:08 pm | Report abuse |
  11. BOMBO

    You have to feel bad for the people who were in there in the first place. Apparently there were problems with this hospital before, but the patients probably had nowhere else to go for treatment.

    December 9, 2011 at 3:06 pm | Report abuse |
  12. BOMBO

    Much appreciated nsaidi.

    December 9, 2011 at 3:09 pm | Report abuse |
  13. chrissy

    @ nicole, im still waiting for an answer on the awaiting moderation thing? banasy told me you were getting a handle on this.

    December 9, 2011 at 3:27 pm | Report abuse |
  14. Joey Isotta-Fraschini

    My post reporting a trolled use of my name is now "awaiting moderation."
    The situation with CNN cannot be as right.
    I think that a troll is reporting abuse and getting honest posters' remarks removed.

    December 9, 2011 at 3:33 pm | Report abuse |
    • nsaidi

      I removed all the posts mentioned here.

      December 9, 2011 at 3:43 pm | Report abuse |
  15. Joey Isotta-Fraschini

    @ chrissy:
    I'm experiencing the same "awaiting moderation" trouble that you are.

    December 9, 2011 at 3:35 pm | Report abuse |
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