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Jaipur hospital fire: Family allege negligence as death toll touches 9
The fire broke out due to a short-circuit at 11:20pm at an attached store room of the ICU which is located at the second floor of the trauma centre
At least nine patients were killed after a massive fire broke out at the intensive care unit (ICU) of Rajasthan’ Sawai Man Singh Hospital’s trauma centre late on Sunday night, said officials.
Family members of the deceased protested at the hospital alleging negligence and demanded a fair probe. They also demanded ₹5,000,000 compensation and a government job to one from each family.
Om Prakash Gurjar, whose brother Pintu Gurjar (25) was among those who died, said, “I was inside the ICU with my brother and saw sparks of fire inside a corner room (store room). There were about ten people from the hospital staff inside who all fled and the family members were also evacuated forcefully.”
“They had been denying the incident first. They started acting 20 minutes later. They failed to evacuate my brother. After two hours, I got my brother out. He had died by the time he was rescued”, Om Prakash said.
Pintu was the only earning member in the family while his younger brother is studying in school and parents are elderly.
“There is no earning member left. If they don’t get any compensation from the government, the family will be finished”, he said.
Joginder Singh, the son of another patient Rukmani Kaur (42), who died, recalled how she was about to get discharged but the tragedy took her life.
“My mother was admitted on September 17 after sustaining an injury to her head. She was stable and was about to be discharged. They got us out and did not let us in. When I went back to my mother after the fire was extinguished, she was no more.”
“We don’t know what happened. My father is specially abled and unable to work. We are two brothers and sell fruits to run the family. It is only ₹200-300 we earn daily. My mother used to manage the household and also used to do some labour work in the village occasionally. We have no idea how to run the family”, he said.
Chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma has formed a six-member committee to probe into the incident.
CM Sharma along with deputy CM Diya Kumari and home minister Jawahar Bedham had also visited the hospital to take stock of the situation.
The deputy superintendent of the SMS trauma centre in Jaipur, Dr Jagdish Modi said, “So far, at least seven patients have been killed in the incident. The fire broke out due to a short-circuit at 11:20pm at an attached store room of the ICU which is located at the second floor of the trauma centre.”
According to officials, the fire spread quickly and was covered with toxic fumes resulting in suffocation for the patients and the staff.
“There were two ICUs- one comprising 11 patients and another with 13. Our nursing staff and ward boys immediately started evacuating the patients but failed to rescue all due to toxic gas,” said Modi.
Six patients, who could not be rescued, died on the spot due to suffocation while five were also critical, of which, three died on Monday morning.
The deputy superintendent said the fire was brought under control after two hours.
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“By the time fire officials arrived, the entire ward was filled with smoke, blocking all access. We had to break windowpanes from the opposite side of the building and spray water jets inside,” a fire official said.
Former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot condoled the deaths and urged the state government to conduct a fair probe.
“The fire in the ICU of the trauma center at SMS Hospital, resulting in the death of 7 people, is extremely heartbreaking. I pray to God that there is minimal loss of life in this accident. May the Lord grant place to the departed souls at His divine feet and swiftly restore the health of the injured. The state government should conduct a high-level investigation into this incident to ensure that such accidents do not recur anywhere in the future”, he posted on his official X account.
Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Gandhinagar, Narayan Bajiya, said, “No case has been lodged so far. However, an FSL team was sent to examine the burnt ICU. It is yet not clear how many fire distinguishers were in place. However, the ICU had only one exit gate causing more suffocation.”
Leader of the opposition (LoP) in Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Tikaram Jully also visited the hospital in the morning. He also sought the resignation of the state health minister.
“It is a disheartening incident. The government is extremely negligent to the medical sector. Three kids died due to a spurious cough syrup and now this accident in the SMS hospital has claimed so many lives who came for treatment. The health minister should resign and the government should provide compensation to the families. Necessary action should be taken against the officials,” he said.
