JAIPUR, Oct 6: A massive fire blazed through the neuro ICU of Jaipur’s state-run Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in the dead of the night, killing six patients on critical care support, officials said on Monday.
Eleven patients were being treated in the ICU at the time, said trauma centre in-charge Dr Anurag Dakhad.
The fire, which erupted in the storage area around midnight, is suspected to have been caused by a short circuit.
The flames spread fast and rescuers could pull out only five patients.
“Six people, two women and four men died, and five are undergoing treatment,” Dhakad said. “Fourteen other patients were admitted in a different ICU, and all were successfully evacuated to safer locations,” he added.
Walls blackened with smoke and soot, equipment twisted out of shape in the heat, and shattered glass told the tale of the horrors that unfolded when the fire broke out.
Though some reports claimed eight patients died in the fire, Dhakad and hospital superintendent Sushil Bhati maintained that the number of deaths was six. (PTI)
