At least six persons died in a fire at a private hospital in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul district on Thursday, The Hindu reported.

The fire broke out at the four-storey City Hospital in Dindigul city around 9.45 pm, District Collector MN Poongodi said. At least 32 persons were admitted to the government hospital, the newspaper quoted unidentified police officers as saying.

The six persons who died were identified as 50-year-old Suruli, 45-year-old Subbulakshmi, 50-year-old Mariammal, 28-year-old Manimurugan, 35-year-old Rajashekar and a girl child, according to The Hindu.

All six were found in a lift and died of suffocation as per preliminary reports, PTI quoted unidentified police and fire department officers as saying. However, doctors have not yet confirmed the cause of death.

After the fire broke out, three fire and rescue units, along with ten “108” ambulances and 30 private ambulances, were sent to the site, The Hindu reported.

Poongodi said that the rescue operations at the hospital had been completed. “We are yet to ascertain the cause of the fire accident,” she added. “The patients have been shifted to government hospital and other private hospitals. A medical team is coming to Dindigul from Madurai for assistance.”

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