New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday expressed "shock and anguish" over loss of lives in a massive fire that broke out in a Kolkata hospital and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.
Singh also conveyed his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the tragedy, a PMO spokesman said. "Prime Minister expresses shock and anguish over the loss of lives in the hospital fire in Kolkata," the spokesman said.
Besides the ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased, he sanctioned Rs 50,000 to each of those seriously injured. Over 70 patients died of suffocation when a massive fire broke out in the centrally-airconditioned seven-storey private hospital. PTI