Noida: District Health Department Receives 75 Bodies In 3 Days For Autopsy Amid Severe Heatwave

Senior health officials of the district said that usually the number of bodies that hospital received for post-mortem in a day was around seven or eight on an average.

Noida: Amid the relentless heatwave, the Gautam Buddh Nagar district health department stated that it received around 75 bodies for post-mortem within a period of just three days, from June 18-20, officials told news agency PTI.

Senior health officials of the district said that usually the number of bodies received for post-mortem in a day was around seven or eight on an average. The officials also described the fatalities as unexpected.

However, the department, could not directly conclude the cause of these deaths to the ongoing heatwave.

"There has been an increase in the number of post-mortem cases and this increase is quite unexpected. Normally, there are 7-8 cases per day. On June 18, we received 28 bodies. On June 19, we received 25 bodies and by the evening of June 20, we had received 22 bodies," PTI quoted Gautam Buddh Nagar's Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Suneel Kumar Sharma as saying.

Out of these bodies received by the hospitals, 20 were brought dead and 10 of them were unidentified.

The CMO stated: "We received 10 bodies in hospitals that were brought dead on June 18, eight on June 19 and another two by evening of June 20. Three unidentified bodies were received on June 18, five on June 19 and two by evening of June 20."

Due to the unexpected rise in casualties, the staff deployed on post-mortem duty has also been increased, PTI reported.

Sharma stated that usually hospitals receive six to seven cases during the day and one at night, which was manageable by one doctor. "But in the last three days as the number of cases rose, services of three doctors were required," he said.

The CMO also commented on the impact of heatwave saying that there is no doubt that the weather is extreme and it is not the usual heat.

"This heat is something else, the content of humidity in the weather has also risen of late. This is painful heat and chances of death increase in it. The impact of heat is not equal on everybody. Those who are completely healthy can bear it. If you live in rural areas and spend time under trees, maybe then also you can bear the heat," he said.

Sharma further said that in cases of construction workers, even traffic police and volunteers, and security personnel, they must use a cap on their head, avoid staying in the open for long, and consume ORS. "Such measures can help save lives," the senior doctor added.