At least 10 people died in a deadly fire that swept through the intensive care unit of a hospital treating Covid patients in the western Indian state of Maharashtra on Saturday, officials said.  The blaze broke out at the Covid intensive care unit of the government-run Civil Hospital in the state's Ahmednagar district, some 250km from Maharashtra's capital Mumbai, this morning. Read: 8 dead, several injured at Astroworld Festival in Houston  As many as eight fire tenders were pressed into service within minutes, but it took them a couple of hours to douse the flames, a senior district administration official told the local media.  "While the bodies of 10 people, mostly patients, were recovered by the firefighters, another person has sustained burn injuries. The remaining patients have been safely evacuated," the official added.  The deaths came on a day India reported 10,929 fresh coronavirus cases in 24 hours, 14% lower than Friday's figure of 12,729. The country also logged 392 new deaths during the period, the health ministry said.  Fire officials suspect an electrical short-circuit triggered the fire. "However, a probe will pinpoint the exact cause of death," a fire official said. Read: 3 killed in Gazipur road accident  This is the third horrific Covid hospital fire tragedy in India in the past eight months.  In May, as many as 18 people died in a fire that broke out at a Covid hospital in the western Indian state of Gujarat. In March too, some 10 Covid patients were killed in a fire that broke out at a Mumbai hospital.      

The government will establish a 1200-bed coronavirus dedicated hospital in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University to fight the soaring virus, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday. With over 400 ICU beds and more than 400 ICU equivalent HDO’s, this will be the most modern Covid-19 hospital in the country, said Zahid after visiting BSMMU convention centre. He said this convention centre was chosen for the proposed Covid facility after inspecting buildings across the city following the prime minister’s direction to increase the number of beds in hospitals across the country. Also read: Country's largest Covid-19 dedicated hospital opened in Dhaka The government is trying to expedite the opening of the hospital by incorporating the oxygen supply facility as soon as possible, said the minister. As 80% of the hospital beds across the country are occupied with patients there is no other option left but to increase the number of beds, he said. Also read: Govt stops corona treatment at 3 dedicated hospitals In the last 10 days at least 90,000 more people were infected with Covid-19 so more manpower is needed in the health service system too, he added. BSMMU Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr Sharfuddin Ahmed said, the Covid dedicated hospital will be set up at the fifth floor of the convention hall and it will be named after Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib.

At least 18 people died in a fire that broke out at a Covid hospital in the western Indian state of Gujarat in the wee hours of Saturday, officials said.   The deaths come on a day when India registered a record 4 lakh cases in 24 hours, for the first time after reporting over 3 lakh daily infections for nine days in a row. In fact, there were 70 patients when the blaze started at Welfare Hospital on the Bharuch-Jambusar Highway, around 200 km from state capital Ahmedabad. At least five fire tenders were pressed into service and it took them two hours to contain the blaze.   Of the 18 dead, 16 were Covid-19 patients undergoing treatment at the hospital. Two others were hospital staffers who had been attending to patients, officials said.   Also read: Fire at Baghdad hospital kills several Covid patients   "A total of 18 people, including two hospital employees, died in the fire," Bharuch District Collector MD Modia told the media. "The remaining 50 patients were safely shifted to a nearby hospital."   Local TV channels beamed footage of the charred bodies being pulled out of the hospital.   Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was "pained by the loss of lives due to a fire at a hospital in Bharuch". "Condolences to the bereaved families," he tweeted.   Also read: 25 Covid patients die in Delhi hospital   A probe has been ordered into the incident, the District Collector said.   This is the second horrific hospital fire tragedy in India in the past one and a half months.    On March 26, some 10 Covid patients were killed in a massive fire that broke out at a coronavirus hospital in the Indian city of Mumbai.   The fire started at the first floor of Dreams Mall in Mumbai's Bhandup area and soon engulfed Sunrise Hospital on the fourth floor. At least 22 fire tenders were pressed into service but it took them several hours to contain the blaze.   Also read: Oxygen tank leak claims 22 lives in India Covid hospital  

At least 22 Covid-19 patients on ventilator at a government hospital in the western Indian state of Maharashtra died on Wednesday after their oxygen supply ran out following leakage of the life-supporting gas from a tanker, officials said. The tanker was brought to Zakir Hussain Municipal Hospital in the state's Nashik district to replenish the oxygen cylinders at the medical facility for continuous supply to the 150-plus Covid-19 patients on life support. "As per current information, 22 people have died due to interrupted supply of oxygen at Zakir Hussain Municipal Hospital in Nashik," district collector Suraj Mandhare told the media. Local TV channels aired footage of oxygen leaking from the tanker stationed outside the hospital and firefighters trying their best to stop the leak by spraying water. Also Read: Indian capital gasps for oxygen Maharashtra's Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that the interrupted supply of oxygen could be linked to the deaths of the patients in the hospital and promised action against any negligence on part of the authorities concerned following a "free and fair probe". Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to social media to offer his condolences to the families of the deceased. "The tragedy at a hospital in Nashik because of oxygen tank leakage is heart-wrenching. Anguished by the loss of lives due to it," he tweeted. State Minister and son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Udhav Thackeray's son Aaditya also called the accident "extremely unfortunate". We all share in the grief of all these families. This unfortunate incident will be thoroughly investigated," he tweeted. The leakage of the life-supporting gas comes at a time when several Indian states are facing an acute shortage of oxygen cylinders. UNB also reported on Tuesday that several hospitals in the national capital were left with just a few hours of oxygen. Also read: 5 dead in fire at India's Covid vaccine facility Last week, India became the second worst-affected country in the world in terms of Covid cases. On Tuesday, India reported as many as 259,170 new cases and 1,761 fatalities in 24 hours, the highest daily death toll since the pandemic broke out in 2020. India's Covid tally and death toll currently stand at 1,53,21,089 and 1,80,530, respectively, according to the country's Health Ministry.