Hospital fire in India kills at least 6, injures 129

At least six people died and 129 others were injured in a fire that broke out in a Mumbai hospital on Monday, police said.

Police officer A.P. Lokhand said the fire in the five-story government-run ESIC Kamgar Hospital in the suburban Andheri area was believed to have been caused by an electrical short circuit. Mumbai is India’s financial and entertainment capital.

Lokhand said it took eight fire engines to bring the fire under control.

A Times of India newspaper report said 49 patients were evacuated and shifted to nearby hospitals. Other details were not immediately available.

Fires are common in India, where building laws and safety norms are often flouted by builders and residents. In December last year, a late-night fire in a Mumbai restaurant killed 15 people.