Second Short Circuit Incident at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital in Four Days

 Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Monday ordered a comprehensive fire safety audit at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital campus following a short circuit, the second one in the last four days.

The short circuit took place when the officials were carrying out floor-by-floor inspection, following the fire incident at the super speciality block on May 2, during which 34 batteries exploded in the UPS Unit.

The minister said that as part of the audit, a panel of experts headed by the sub collector will be constituted. The panel will include officials from the Electrical Inspectorate, Fire and Rescue Services, Local self-government departments, police, disaster management authorities, technical personnel and civil and electrical wings of the public works department.

A huge fire broke out inside the casualty wing of the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode on May 2, resulting in the death of five persons.

The fire spread to the hospital's surgical super-speciality block on the night of May 2. Police registered a case under section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSSS), and the fire and rescue services department had initiated a separate probe into the fire that started in the UPS room of the building.

Around 200 patients had to be evacuated and shifted to other wards in the MCH and nearby private hospitals.

Hospital authorities had refuted the allegation that the deaths occurred due to the fire. They claimed that while one person died even before reaching the hospital, other patients were also in a critical condition.

The authorities said that one of them had oral cancer, another had a serious liver ailment, the third had a kidney problem, and the fourth was suffering from severe pneumonia.

Meanwhile, the second short circuit incident has created panic among the patients, doctors and paramedical staff of the hospital.