Virar hospital fire: Kin of each victim to get Rs 5 lakh aid

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday announced financial assistance of Rs five lakh each to the families of 13 COVID-19 patients, who died in a fire at a hospital in Virar of Palghar district. A statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said those who suffered serious injuries in the incident will be given Rs one lakh compensation each.

Thirteen coronavirus patients died after the blaze in the intensive care unit (ICU) located on the second floor of the four-storeyed Vijay Vallabh Hospital at Virar in the early hours of Friday. Five women and eight men died in the incident.

There were 90 patients in the hospital, 18 of them in the ICU, when the fire broke out after a blast in the AC unit, an official has said.