In the midst of a disastrous flood, Chennai saw another tragedy as 18 patients in an ICU died after power outage at the hospital allegedly cut off oxygen supply to ventilators. 

The patients were reportedly on ventilators at the Madras Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (MIOT) hospital in Chennai when the power cut occurred. 

According to The NewsMinute, staff at the hospital had abandoned patients and left after the MIOT hospital was flooded. 

The patients who died were 'highly critical',  J Radhakrishnan, state health secretary told the media. He, however, has denied that power outage led to the deaths. 

He said the reason for the deaths was unclear and that an investigation had been ordered. 

Nine men and five women were among the dead. The bodies were shifted to the Royapettah government hospital, where 30 other bodies were also brought on Friday.