The chief medical superintendent of a government hospital in India was removed from their post over the weekend after linking a large number of patient deaths to a scorching heat wave in the country.
As of Monday, nearly 170 people are reported to have died from conditions aggravated by the heat in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, with temperatures climbing as high as 113F in some areas over recent days. Authorities are now investigating why so many of the deaths in Uttar Pradesh occurred in a single district—Ballia—despite surrounding areas experiencing similarly brutal heat and humidity.
Brajesh Pathak, the state’s health minister, said officials are now looking into what’s caused the death of “so many people” in Ballia, with local media reports suggesting that 57 people admitted to the district hospital died over just four days.
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The facility’s medical chief, Dr. Divakar Singh, was transferred from his post after allegedly blaming the weather for the deaths despite some physicians saying that the patients had not displayed symptoms typically associated with heat, according to The Guardian. His statement was later described by that the state’s deputy chief minister as “careless.”
Almost 400 patients were admitted to the hospital between Thursday and Saturday, health officials said. They have also reported that the hospital’s morgue has been overwhelmed by the crisis and some families have even been asked to take their loved one’s bodies home with them. Power outages across the region have also hampered efforts to combat the disaster, with blackouts leaving many without air conditioning or running water.
Staff at the Ballia district hospital have instead been forced to cool patients by fanning them with books, and state officials have warned elderly residents to stay indoors. Opposition politicians have criticized the local government for failing to adequately prepare and respond to the extreme temperatures.
“So many people across Uttar Pradesh have lost lives because of the carelessness of the state [government],” former state chief minister Akhilesh Yadav told NDTV. “They should have warned the people about the heat wave. Not a single district hospital has been built in UP in the last 6 years. Those who have lost their lives are poor farmers because they did not receive food, medicines and treatment on time.”
Investigators from the state government now say other factors may have played a role in the deaths—though it’s not yet clear what the factors might be. “These do not appear to be heat wave-related deaths because nearby districts facing similar conditions are not throwing up similar death figures,” Dr. AK Singh, one of the investigators, told NDTV. “The initial symptoms were of chest pain mostly, which is not the first symptom for someone affected by a heat wave.”
He suggested contaminated water may have played a part in the deaths, with staff at the hospital struggling to cope with the surge in patients. Many are arriving at the site with symptoms including vomiting, high fever, and breathing difficulties, according to reports.
“The patients are mostly from two blocks,” Dr. AK Singh was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. “We will visit the place and take the history of the patients. We will also collect the water samples of the place there to check if anything [is wrong] with the drinking water. We will send the sample for testing.”
He added that if the heat wave was responsible for the death toll, “similar deaths would have also been reported from other districts which have recorded similar or higher day temperatures in the past few days.”
