Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Oct 3 (IANS): Barely 24 hours after the Nanded tragedy, at least another 8 patients, including 2 infants, perished in a government hospital in Ghati in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinaghar (ex-Aurangabad) district, sparking a fresh political furore.

Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar termed the latest incident as “a black blot” on the state government’s health system, and other leaders have slammed the state administration for its serious lapses.

Among the victims are 5 males and details of the causes of their deaths in such a short time are not yet clear.

"Not even a day passed since the unfortunate incident of deaths of 24 patients, including 12 newborns within 24 hours in the government hospital in Nanded, same time deaths of 8 patients including 2 newborns in Ghati Hospital in Aurangabad has cast a black blot on the government health system," said Pawar in a X post.

The state cabinet presided over by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde discussed the issue of Nanded and a senior minister Hasan Mushrif rushed to the Sikh pilgrimage town to assess the situation.

An official at the Ghati Hospital, declining to be quoted, said that the deaths are not unusual since it’s a 1,000-bed hospital and gets all types of cases daily ranging from snake-bites to road accidents.