Hospital denies TV reports that Jayalalithaa has died

Confusion prevailed over the health of J Jayalalithaa on Monday after several TV stations reported that the ailing Tamil Nadu chief minister had died while the hospital issued a denial, saying it was still treating her with “life-saving measures”.

Jayalalithaa’s party flag was seen flying at half-mast at its headquarters in Chennai within minutes of at least three local TV stations, including Jaya TV, reporting that the 68-year-old leader had died. But the flag went back up after the hospital, where Jayalalithaa was admitted for fever and dehydration on September 22, said the leader was alive but critical.

“The honorable chief minister continues to be on life support at the Hospital. The specialists and specialists from the AIIMS are continuously monitoring the honorable chief minister very closely,” S Viswanathan, chief operating officer, Apollo Hospitals, said in a statement.

“Some TV channels are wrongly reporting that honorable chief minister is no more. This is totally baseless and false. They are advised to rectify this mistake, based on this press release.”

Jayalalithaa’s health remained critical throughout Monday, with doctors struggling to help her recover from a cardiac arrest on Sunday evening. The chief minister was said to be on life support systems.

-HT
-Agencies