Pune, Aug 12 - Six people succumbed to the H1N1 virus in India Wednesday, including five from the same hospital in this 'epidemic' city, taking the death toll in the country to 17. The sixth death was reported from Maharashtra's Nashik town.

The five who died in Pune were Gautam Shelar, a 48-year-old driver, Nita Meghani, 50, Babu Genu Kuland, a school student, Sanjay Mistry, 35, and Shravani Deshpande, 29, a Maharashtra Swine Flu Control Room official said.

They all died at the Sassoon Hospital, which has been handling very serious cases of swine flu in this second largest city of Maharashtra.

Shelar was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition three-four days ago and died around 4.45 p.m. His death came barely an hour after Meghani died.

Babu died in the same hospital at about 11 a.m. A resident of Pimpri town near here, Babu was hospitalised three days ago in a serious condition, according to Pune Municipal Corporation (Health Department) chief S.R. Pardeshi.

Mistry, another Pimpri resident, died in the wee hours of Wednesday. He was hospitalised Sunday in a critical condition and put on a ventilator.

Within hours, Deshpande died of the A(H1N1) influenza around 3 a.m. She had been hospitalised here three days ago with pneumonia and later found to be suffering from swine flu.