5 people die of heatstroke at Bihar's Aurangabad hospital; death toll rises to 17

AURANGABAD: At least 5 people died after suffering heatstrokes at a hospital in Bihar's Aurangabad district, said an official on Friday.

The death toll due to heat wave conditions in Bihar's Aurangabad, which reached 12 earlier has risen to 17 as of Friday.

District Magistrate, Aurangabad, Shrikant Shastri shared the development about the casualties as part of heat-related issues and said, "5 people admitted to the hospital died. When we will get the post-mortem report, then we will get to know the exact reason."

"We have made the arrangements for the cases of heat stroke. The hospital management is working to provide better arrangements to the patients. We are distributing ORS for free," he said.

The city of Aurangabad, just like many other districts in the state has been battling an unprecedented heatwave with record-breaking temperatures.

Several patients were admitted to different hospitals across the district.

As extreme temperatures continue to grapple in parts of northwest and central India, heatwave conditions have been disrupting the day-to-day lives of the people.

As many as 24 people have lost their lives across Bihar, as the state experiences intense heatwave conditions, with temperatures exceeding 44 degrees Celsius.

Four people, including a worker on election duty on Thursday also reportedly died in Kaimur district. Three deaths were also reported in Bihar's Arrah in Bhojpur district after suffering from extreme heatwaves in the region.

Bihar has been reeling under a heatwave and the state government had, on Wednesday, ordered the closure of all private and government-run schools, coaching institutes and Anganwadi centres till June 8.

The decision was taken after dozens of students fainted due to the heat.

Bihar is voting in all seven phases of the Lok Sabha elections, with the final phase scheduled for Saturday, June 1.