Eighteen ICU Patients Die in Flood-Hit Chennai's MIOT Hospital

"Let's not jump the gun and say (that just because) the patients who were on ventilator died, then the others would have died too". The bodies have been shifted to Royapettah government hospital.

When asked about this shocking incident, State health secretary J Radhakrishnan said, "MIOT Hospital was treating 575 patients when floods started; 75 critical patients were on ventilator".

Fourteen patients admitted in an intensive care unit of a private hospital near here died due to power failure following floods, a top official said on Friday. "Reason of their death is unclear, investigation is underway", he added.

Media reports claimed that the incident happened as the generator was in the basement of the MIOT hospital which was flooded. On Friday, it was reported that 14 patients in Chennai's MIOT Hospital lost there lives and their bodies were brought to the Chennai government-run Royapettah Hospital for post-mortem. He said that the patients were in a highly critical state and died over a course of 2-3 days and not because of power failure.

The heaviest rains in a century and the resultant floods have left at least 269 people dead in Tamil Nadu.

Health department officals said they had received requests from MIOT Hospital for oxygen cylinders and boats, all of which were supplied.

The break in rains resulted in a sharp fall in the discharge of waters from Chembarapakkam, Pondi and Puzhal lakes leading to reduction in the water levels of the two rivers that criss-cross the city.