Death toll from fire at India's Mumbai Hospital rises to 9

MUMBAI: The death toll in fire at a COVID-19 hospital in India's Mumbai city rose to nine, as several persons are still feared trapped inside it, confirmed a top cop.

Speaking to Xinhua news agency over the phone, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Prashant Kadam said six more dead bodies have been recovered, taking the total to nine.

"We are told that a couple of more persons are still missing and feared trapped inside. We are trying our best to reach out to them," he added.

The fire had broken out late on Thursday night inside the hospital, which was converted into a COVID-19 facility in the wake of the second wave pandemic in the country.

The ill-fated hospital is located in the Bhandup area of Mumbai, which is also the capital city of the south-western state of Maharashtra

Earlier, it was reported that more than 70 patients with COVID-19 infections in the private hospital, on the third floor of the mall, were evacuated to other centers, local civic officials said, adding that the cause of the fire was being investigated.

It was not immediately clear whether any of those killed were COVID patients.

Mumbai is struggling through the worst phase of its COVID-19 pandemic, and reported more than 5,500 cases in a day on Thursday, its highest number since the outbreak began.

Meanwhile, India's new coronavirus infections rose 59,118 overnight, the highest daily rise since Oct. 18, health ministry data showed on Friday.

The country's overall caseload stood at 11.85 million.

India reported 257 new deaths from coronavirus, taking the overall tally to 160,949, the data showed.