Two inquiry teams formed; one to meet today to strategise

Fire may have started in a store attached to a toilet, possibly after someone threw a burning cigarette into the cluttered room: Preliminary probe

- HT Correspondent

LUCKNOW: Though the exact cause of the fire at the Lok Bandhu Raj Narayan Combined Hospital here on Monday night is yet to be ascertained, it is revealed that the government hospital had failed to address key electrical safety shortcomings flagged in a 2023 safety audit. No corrective measures were taken despite at least three subsequent reminders, people in the know of things said.

A preliminary inquiry by the electricity safety department suggests the fire may have started in a store attached to a toilet, possibly after someone threw a burning cigarette into the cluttered room.

But the possibility of an electrical short-circuit as the cause of the mishap has not been ruled out.

The blaze at the hospital prompted evacuation of at least 200 patients who were shifted to other hospitals.

"Our preliminary inquiry suspects fire breaking out from a store cluttered with discarded stuff including mattresses," a senior official of the electricity safety directorate said, adding: "However, a detailed inquiry into the incident is yet to be conducted and we still do not rule out the possibility of an electric short circuit being the cause for the fire."

In a safety audit of several hospitals in UP in 2023, the electricity safety directorate flagged glaring shortcomings in the Lok Bandhu hospital, like in most other hospitals.