Ten patients died and several others were injured after a fire broke out in the trauma care intensive care unit of the Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack on Monday, ANI quoted Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi as saying.
The fire was reported at about 3 am, The Indian Express reported. While the exact cause of the fire has not been confirmed, the chief minister said it may have been triggered by a short circuit.
Around 23 patients were admitted in the trauma intensive care unit and an adjacent intensive care unit at the time of the incident, Majhi told ANI. Many of them were on ventilator and oxygen support, making it difficult to shift them quickly after the blaze began, The New Indian Express reported.
Majhi said that seven patients died while being shifted during the rescue operation, while three others later died during treatment, ANI reported.
Eleven hospital employees, including private security guards involved in the rescue, were also injured by fire and smoke and are receiving treatment, The Hindu reported.
Firefighters, including the college’s unit and personnel from the Cuttack Fire Station, responded with three tenders and more than 30 personnel to control the blaze and assist in rescues, the newspaper reported.
SCB Medical College and Hospital is the largest government healthcare facility in Odisha.
Majhi announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 25 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to the next of kin of each of those who died and ordered a judicial probe into the incident.
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