At least 35 people have been killed in a fire that broke out in a hospital in the eastern Indian city of Calcutta (Kolkata), officials say.

印度官员称，东部城市加尔各答一座医院发生火灾，至少35人死亡。

Many patients are trapped in the hospital
Most of the victims were patients who were trapped after the flames spread through the AMRI hospital in the southern part of the city.

The fire broke out in the basement of the hospital early on Friday, officials said.

Fire engines fought the blaze for five hours before bringing it under control.

The fire is among the deadliest in Calcutta in recent years.

Officials say the death toll¹ is likely to rise as rescue workers are trying to reach the upper floors of the six-storey hospital in Dhakuria.

"Patients have suffocated² on the fumes," West Bengal Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim told reporters.

A number of patients have been rescued, and moved to other hospitals in the city.

'Grim situation'

"We have shifted 50 patients to an adjacent（邻近的） hospital. The situation is grim at the moment," fire brigade chief Gopal Bhattacharya told the AFP news agency.

The BBC's Amitabha Bhattashali in Calcutta says bodies of patients wrapped in white sheets have been brought out by rescue workers.

Local people climbed into the hospital compound to rescue patients before fire engines arrived, our correspondent adds.

Mr Hakim said the fire broke out in the basement of the hospital, which was being used as a store for flammable（易燃物） items.

The fire spread swiftly to the upper floors of the private hospital.

TV pictures showed patients in gurneys（轮床） being rescued and distraught relatives of trapped patients. Thick smoke was coming out of the lower floors.

One rescued patient said: "The attendants woke me up and dragged me down the stairs. I saw 10-15 patients at the top of the stairs trying to get down."

More than 40 people died in a huge fire in a historic building in Calcutta in March last year.

Fires in high-rise buildings are fairly common in the city. There have been at least 10 major incidents since 2008.

Electrical short circuits have been responsible for most of these fires.