DINDIGUL: At least six people, including a young girl and two elderly women, died, and six others were injured after a fire broke out at City Hospital, a private medical facility in Dindigul, around 9 pm on Thursday.
Thick smoke from the fire, triggered by a suspected electrical short circuit near the hospital's entrance, likely caused the deaths, sources said.
Four fire engines have been deployed to extinguish the flames, and the area has been cordoned off. Senior officials are overseeing rescue efforts.
The victims, identified as Suruli (50), Subbu Lakshmi (45), Mariyammal (50), Mani Murugan (28), Rajasekaran (35), and a six-year-old child, reportedly died of suspected suffocation after being trapped near the lift on the ground floor.
The bodies were moved to Dindigul Medical College Hospital for postmortem and will be handed over to their families afterward, according to officials.
Three of the injured are in critical condition, Dindigul district collector MN Poongodi said.
"Three of the injured are currently under ventilator support at the medical college hospital. Three others are admitted to two different private hospitals. Around 32 patients have been shifted from City Hospital to the medical college hospital as a precautionary measure," she added added.
Police said the fire, suspected to have been caused by a short circuit near the entrance, left patients and staff stranded in the smoke-filled facility.
Some managed to escape through an alternative exit, but several others, including seven people trapped near the lift, fainted due to suffocation.
Fire personnel entered the hospital through another entrance and rescued the trapped individuals. They were rushed to the hospital in 11 ambulances. Six were declared brought dead upon arrival, while others are receiving treatment.
Five fire tenders were dispatched to the scene, and firefighters extinguished the blaze after two hours. All those trapped inside were evacuated to safety.
The City Hospital, located in Dindigul's Gandhi Nagar area, has been operating for over 20 years and offers services in specialties such as ENT, neurology, ophthalmology, and orthopedics, sources said.