At least 18 persons have been reported dead following a fire outbreak in a hospital coronavirus ward in Gujarat, India.
Local media reports in India say among those dead are 16 coronavirus patients and two health workers. The fire outbreak occurred on May 1, 2021 in Western Gujarat.
The outbreak comes as India recorded over 400,000 coronavirus cases in a single day for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
Reports say the inferno broke out in the intensive care unit of the Welfare Hospital in the Bharuch district.
About 60 patients were said to be on admission when the outbreak happened around 1:00am local time.
Initial investigation suggests a short circuit might have caused the fire outbreak, reports say.
By Melvin Tarlue