At least 14 people died when fire broke out at a private hospital in eastern India on Monday, officials said.

 

The fire was likely caused by an electrical short circuit at the dialysis unit of the SUM hospital in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha state, and then subsequently spread to other units, hospital deputy superintendent Basant Kumar Pati said.

 

Fire tenders were deployed at the hospital while ambulances were moving patients to other hospitals, officials said. Some patients were in critical condition.

 

"We are trying our best to save lives," said Arti Ahuja, principal secretary of Odisha's health and family welfare department, who confirmed the death toll at 14.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the tragedy was "mind-numbing" and directed the federal health minister to facilitate transfer of those injured to All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a group of government hospitals.