Dozens Killed In Blaze At Kolkata Hospital

The blaze erupted about 3:30 a.m. in the building's basement, and heavy smoke quickly engulfed the hospital. The area was used for storage, but the cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Fleeing medical staff abandoned patients to a raging fire that killed 89 people Friday as smoke and flames poured through the seven-storey building in eastern India, officials said.

Police arrested six hospital officials on charges of culpable homicide in Kolkata. Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of the state of West Bengal, ordered the hospital's license withdrawn. The hospital denied any violations of safety measures.

"It was horrifying that the hospital authorities did not make any effort to rescue trapped patients," said Subrata Mukherjee, West Bengal state minister for public health engineering. "Senior hospital authorities ran away after the fire broke out."

"It's a very serious offense, and we will take the strongest action," added Banerjee.

Emergency workers pulled 73 bodies from the building, and another 16 succumbed to their injuries later, said Danayati Sen, a top Kolkata police official.

Hospital officials said four of the bodies pulled from the building were those of staff members. The remainder were presumably patients and relatives who were aiding in their care. Rescue officials said many of the dead suffered from smoke inhalation.

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