Several dead as fire rages through hospital in southern India

A fire at a private hospital in southern India has killed at least six people, police said, with more than two dozen others injured in the blaze.

Police superintendent A. Pradeep said on Friday that around 30 people had been injured but all were “stable”.

Building fires are common in India due to a lack of firefighting equipment and a routine disregard for safety regulations.

The fire broke out late on Thursday night in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, and its cause is still being investigated.

All six victims were found unconscious inside a lift at the hospital in the city of Dindigul, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

The fire started at the reception area on the ground floor and rapidly spread to the other floors, the Times of India newspaper reported.

The blaze came just weeks after 10 newborns were killed when a fire engulfed a hospital in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Earlier this year, a similar fire broke out at a children’s hospital in New Delhi that killed six infants.

At least 27 people were killed, including several children, when a fire broke out at a packed amusement park arcade in May in the western state of Gujarat.