5 Dead, 12 On Life Support As Delhi Reels Under Heatwave That Has No End

Dr Ajay Shukla, medical superintendent of the state-run hospital, warned that the mortality rate in heatstroke cases is quite high

Five people have died over the last two days and at least 12 are on life support at Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital as the national capital burns due to a searing heatwave. Other hospitals in Delhi are also seeing many admissions due to heatstrokes. 

Dr Ajay Shukla, medical superintendent of the state-run hospital, told NDTV that 22 people had been admitted after they suffered a heatstroke. "Five patients died and 12 or 13 patients are on ventilator support," he said.

The senior doctor warned that the mortality rate in heatstroke cases is quite high -- about 60-70 per cent. "If the patient is brought late to the hospital, one organ after the other starts failing. There is a lack of awareness. A lot of these patients are migrant labourers. Also, the symptoms (of heatstroke) can be easily missed or mistaken for something else. It's only when patients faint that their relatives feel that hospitalisation is needed."