Bhubaneswar: A major fire broke out on Monday evening at Sum Hospital here in Khandagiri area. At least 22 patients were killed and more than 20 were injured in the mishap.
The death toll is likely to increase as details regarding the casualties were not available by the time this report was filed.
According to reports, the fire broke out at around 6.30 pm in the dialysis intensive care unit (ICU) located in the first floor of the hospital. Seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flames. Besides, 13 vehicles of 108 Ambulance Services were engaged to evacuate patients to other hospitals. A few patients who suffered burn injuries were rushed to Capital Hospital and a few other hospitals in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack for immediate attention. Reports said some attendants and patients got injured as they tried to save their lives due to suffocation by jumping from the first floor of the building after breaking open windowpanes.
The mishap occurred due to electric short-circuit, said the hospital authorities. “Short circuit seems to be the reason of the fire we are looking onto it. However, we are examining how the fire mishap occurred,” said Basant Pati, deputy SP of Sum Hospital. Deputy Commissioner of Police Satyabrata Bhoi along security personnel has rushed to the hospital for crowd control and to assist the rescue teams.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government ordered for a high-level probe into the fire accident. In 2011, six board members of the AMRI hospital in Kolkata were arrested for culpable homicide after fire in which 89 people — 85 patients and four staff members — died.
There were 160 people inside the hospital in Dhakuria, south Kolkata, when the fire began. Families of the victims and the government had accuse the privately-owned and posh hospital of ignoring basic fire safety laws.
