Five patients were killed and six left injured in a fire that broke out in Uday Shivananda hospital, a COVID-designated hospital in Rajkot, Gujarat on early Friday, 27 November, morning.
PM Modi condoled the tragedy on Twitter, saying that he is praying for a quick recovery of the injured. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has ordered a probe into the incident, his office said, according to ANI.
Twenty-eight other COVID patients being treated at the hospital were rescued, NDTV said, quoting reports.
The fire was brought under control within half an hour.
According to The Indian Express, Bhikha Theba, the chief fire officer of Rajkot said that it appeared that the fire could have started due to short circuit, though the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
“We rushed to the spot and rescued 30 patients after a call informing about the fire was received. Three patients died inside the ICU.”Fire brigade official to PTI
According to a report by NDTV, no hospital staff was harmed during the fire. Further, the bodies of the five patients have been sent for post-mortem, where the exact cause of death would be known.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI and NDTV.)
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