The death toll in the ESIC Hospital fire in Marol rose to 13 after a 78-year-old man from Kurla and a 65-year-old woman from Saki Naka succumbed to sepsis on December 31 and on January 5 respectively.
Vitthal Pakhare and Idna Khatoon Abdul Majid were undergoing treatment at the Riddhi Vinayak Critical Care Hospital in Malad. Doctors at the hospital said that Pakhare had an additional complication of hypoxia.
Trapped in ICU
His son Vijay said that Pakhare was rushed to ESIC Hospital on December 14 after a bout of severe breathlessness. Pakhare was a cardiac patient and had suffered cardio-respiratory failure. The doctors at ESIC Hospital revived him and admitted him to the Intensive Care Unit on the fourth floor. He was on ventilator support when the blaze engulfed the hospital on December 17.
Vijay said, “My mother and sister were trapped in the ICU during the fire along with my father, who remained unresponsive. I was fortunately on the second floor of the hospital and was able to find my way out.” Vijay said his parents and sister were rescued two hours after the fire broke out. “He had no oxygen support when he was brought down. It was only in the ambulance that he was given oxygen manually,” he said. Pakhare was admitted to Seven Hills Hospital and shifted to Riddhi Vinayak Critical Care Hospital.
Dr. Vinay Goyal from Riddhi Vinayak Critical Care Hospital said Pakhare’s condition had been critical owing to cardiac complications. Dr. Goyal said, “As he was bedridden for a long time, he had developed bed sores which were infected. He developed sepsis and also suffered from hypoxia, which led to his death.”
The family was given a compensation of ₹2 lakh on December 24 as Pakhare was in the list of injured. However, they are yet to get the updated compensation amount. Vijay’s mother and sister have not received any compensation when they were admitted for four days at the Seven Hills Hospital.
Idna Khatoon was admitted to ESIC Hospital’s ICU after suffering from brain haemorrhage. After being rescued from the fire, she was shifted to Seven Hills Hospital, where doctors performed a surgery to remove a part of her skull and a blood clot. However, she developed sepsis in the urinary tract. Since Seven Hills Hospital did not have a urologist, she was shifted to Riddhi Vinayak Critical Care Hospital on January 4. “She was in a critical condition and succumbed the very next day,” said Dr. Goyal.
Awaiting compensation
Idna Khatoon’s family has not received any compensation from ESIC Hospital so far. Dr. B.B. Gupta, medical superintendent of ESIC Hospital, said, “I am not aware of these deaths. I will call for all the relevant documents and medical history to investigate what ailments these patients suffered from. I will find out why they were admitted to the hospital and what treatment they received. If they died owing to the fire, they will definitely get compensation.”
