India investigates patient deaths in wake of major floods
NEW DELHI — Indian authorities were investigating possible negligence after 18 hospital patients died when rainwaters from massive floods in southern Tamil Nadu state knocked out generators and switched off ventilators.
The patients were in the intensive care unit at MIOT International hospital in the state capital of Chennai when floodwaters seeped into the room with the generators, cutting off power to the building and the ventilators last week, state Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan said Saturday.
The worst flooding in a century in Tamil Nadu has left more than 280 people dead since November. In the deluge last week, authorities turned off power in some areas to prevent electrocutions.
Although floodwaters have begun to recede, vast swaths of Chennai and neighbouring districts were still under 2.5 to three metres of water, with tens of thousands of people in state-run relief camps.
Soldiers using boats have rescued thousands of residents marooned in high-rise buildings and launched massive relief operations.
“We feel quite helpless,” said Malti Soman, standing in knee-deep water in Mambalam, a residential area in central Chennai.
The health secretary said that the main focus in the coming days will be to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. In many areas, sewage drains have overflowed, posing a health hazard for residents who have had to wade through the water.
Chennai’s airport was closed for a fourth day Saturday. Railway services partially resumed.
India’s main monsoon season runs from June through September, but for the southeastern coast, the heaviest rainfall is from October to December, also called the retreating monsoon. Experts say the heavy rainfall was linked to the El Niño weather pattern.