Eighteen hospital patients died after heavy rain caused floods which knocked out generators in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, officials said.
State officials were investigating complaints of negligence by hospital authorities in the state capital Chennai, which is reeling from unprecedented floods.
The 18 patients were in the intensive care unit when a power cut affected ventilators in the hospital, leading to their deaths over the past two to three days, said Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan.
He said floodwater entered the room housing the generators, cutting off power to the building and switching off the ventilators.
Army soldiers using boats have rescued thousands of residents marooned in high-rise buildings and launched massive relief operations to provide food and medicines.
Although the floods have now begun to recede, vast swathes of Chennai and neighbouring districts were still under 8ft to 10ft (2.5m to 3m) of water, with tens of thousands of people in state-run relief camps.
As officials struggled to supply drinking water and food packets, people were complaining that relief had not yet reached several districts, four days after they were marooned or stranded on rooftops.
Chennai’s airport was closed for a fourth day on Saturday, although some flights were operating from a nearby air force base.
India’s main monsoon season runs from June to September, but for Chennai and the rest of India’s south-eastern coast, the heaviest rainfall is from October to December – also called the retreating monsoon.
This year’s deluge – which experts linked to the El Nino weather pattern, when the waters of the Pacific Ocean get warmer than usual – caught Chennai, with a population of 9.6 million, completely unprepared
Discover more from London Glossy Post
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
