What appears to be bodies wrapped in black polythene bags on tables or hospital beds, near to those being used to treat live coronavirus patients at Sion Hospital in Mumbai.
Dubai - Chilling footage, which apparently shows a Covid-19 treatment ward in the Sion Hospital where at least half a dozen dead bodies are lying on beds next to the living patients undergoing treatment there, sparks outrage on social media.
By Web report (with inputs from agencies)
Published: Fri 8 May 2020, 5:05 AM
Last updated: Fri 8 May 2020, 7:22 AM
A video from inside a Mumbai hospital showing coronavirus patients apparently in beds next to dead bodies has gone viral.
The chilling video, which also sparked off a huge chain reaction on social media, apparently shows a Covid-19 treatment ward in the Sion Hospital where at least half a dozen dead bodies are lying on beds next to the living patients undergoing treatment there.
Covid-19 cases in India surged past 50,000 on Thursday, with no sign of the pace of new infections slowing despite the extension of the nationwide lockdown to May 17.
On Thursday, India reported a rise in 3,561 new cases, pushing the total up to 52,952.
The death toll also increased by 89, taking its total fatalities from the virus to 1,783, a number that is relatively low compared to the likes of the United States and Western European countries despite India's population of 1.3 billion.
The shocking video in the hospital was filmed by a man who does not show his face, and from the way the footage is filmed, it appears he is attempting to be clandestine in his actions.
Starting from outside a hospital ward, he films him walking into a room that allegedly has around 10 Covid-19 patients being treated within.
After showing a patient, the man pans his camera around, illustrating bodies wrapped in black polythene bags on tables or hospital beds, near to those being used to treat live coronavirus patients.
As the video goes on, more patients being treated become visible, while there is the sight of bodies wrapped in black plastic.
Nitesh Rane, a member of India's Legislative Assembly (MLA), shared the video on Twitter with the message: 'In Sion hospital, patients are sleeping next to dead bodies! This is the extreme. What kind of administration is this! Very, very shameful.'
Rane's tweet had been viewed 132,000 times at the time of going to press, with Indians and politicians expressing their outrage at the video.
The MLA also noted that the hospital's patients mainly come from Dharavi, the largest slum in the country, which is currently witnessing high numbers of Covid-19 cases. It announced 50 new cases of the disease on Thursday.
The Brihanmummbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Thursday a committee will verify the video after India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lambasted the city's administration.
When the videos were forwarded to the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) - which runs the LTMG Hospital, and officials from the Chief Minister Office for their comments, there was no response until late on Wednesday night.
Surprisingly, despite being an isolated treatment centre, several persons - who don't appear to be health workers - can be seen casually moving around in the ward, including the female relative of one patient lying on a bed.
It is also not clear since how long the Covid-19 victims' bodies have been left on the beds instead of being shifted to the morgue.
Attacking the government, Rane termed it as "very very shameful" and said he plans to raise it in a big way with the concerned authorities, as the presence of dead bodies could threaten the health and safety of those undergoing treatment.
"I plan to write to the government authorities and even raise it with the Maharashtra Governor in th," said Rane, who himself appeared to be shaken by what he viewed.
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