Jaipur: Hospital fire kills 6 in ICU; relatives allege negligence

Fire reportedly started due to a short circuit in a storage area

- MPOST BUREAU

JAIPUR: A devastating fire tore through the neuro intensive care unit (ICU) of Jaipur's state-run Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in the early hours of Monday, claiming the lives of six critically ill patients and leaving others hospitalised, officials said.

The blaze erupted around midnight in a storage area on the ICU's second floor, and preliminary reports suggest a short circuit may have triggered the fire. Anguished relatives held a brief protest and alleged that authorities were negligent, ignoring warnings and fleeing instead of rescuing the ailing and sick.

According to Dr Anurag Dakhad, in-charge of the hospital's trauma centre, 11 patients were admitted in the affected ICU at the time.

Six people, two women and four men, died, and five others are currently receiving treatment," he said.

The victims were identified as Pintu from Sikar; Dilip and Bahadur from Jaipur; and Shrinath, Rukmini, and Kusuma from Bharatpur.

The government announced Rs 10 lakh in compensation to the next of the kin of the deceased.

It also removed SMS hospital superintendent Dr Sushil Bhati and Trauma Centre incharge Dr Anurag Dhakad from their posts. The two were replaced by Dr Mrinal Joshi and Dr B L Yadav.

The tender of the fire safety agency was cancelled, and legal proceedings were underway against the company, an official said.

Meanwhile, a second ICU on the same floor, housing 14 patients, was successfully evacuated without casualties. "All other patients were moved to safer locations in time," Dakhad confirmed. The hospital, the largest government medical facility in Rajasthan, caters to critically ill patients from across the state and neighbouring regions.