MUMBAI (REUTERS, XINHUA) - At least nine people died in a fire that engulfed a mall housing a hospital that treated coronavirus patients in Mumbai, the authorities said on Friday (March 26).

Speaking to Xinhua over phone, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Prashant Kadam said a few more people are still missing and might be trapped inside the hospital located on the third floor of the mall.

More than 70 patients with Covid-19 infections in the private hospital were evacuated to other centres, local civic officials said, adding that the cause of the fire was being investigated.

It was not immediately clear whether any of those killed were Covid-19 patients.

Mumbai is struggling through the worst phase of its Covid-19 pandemic, and reported more than 5,500 cases in a day on Thursday, its highest number since the outbreak began.

Meanwhile, India's new coronavirus infections rose 59,118 overnight, the highest daily rise since Oct 18, health ministry data showed on Friday.

The country's overall caseload stood at 11.85 million.

India reported 257 new deaths from coronavirus, taking the overall tally to 160,949, the data showed.