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Virar hospital fire: Hospital blocked rear emergency exit point, say sources
A startling disclosure has come to the fore that the management of the Vijay Vallabh hospital in Bolinj, Virar (West) had allegedly blocked the rear emergency exit by constructing a wall and a room
A startling disclosure has come to the fore that the management of the Vijay Vallabh hospital in Bolinj, Virar (West) had allegedly blocked the rear emergency exit by constructing a wall and a room. The sources revealed that many of the victims had to use the main entrance door at the time of the blast in the air conditioning unit on Friday.
Fifteen Covid patients were charred to death after a fire broke out on the second floor of a four-storey private hospital, Vijay Vallabh Covid Care Hospital, in Virar in the early hours of Friday.
However, Gangatharan D, VVMC commissioner skirted the issue and said he was unaware of the same. He said the probe is being done by the Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar (MBVV) Commissionerate and refused to comment further on the issue.
According to hospital sources, the wall was constructed a month ago by the management. At the time of the incident, there were 90 Covid-19 patients admitted at the hospital.
The sources said that at the time of the incident, the ambulances were parked outside the main entrance. The chaos in shifting the burn patients to other hospitals could have been smooth if the rear exit existed, said the source.
Sanjaykumar Patil, the deputy commissioner of police, zone 2, said, “The probe has been handed over to the crime branch. We are studying all the documents related to the structural, fire and electrical audits. Till now, no arrests have been made against the hospital management, doctors and staffers in the case, but we are probing all possible angles,” said Patil.
Around 17 patients were in the intensive care unit (ICU) on the second floor of the hospital, constructed in 2014, said the source. The ward boys had to take out the victims through the main door, said the source.
The Vasai civic body had conducted a fire, structural and electrical audit a few months ago. The wall was constructed a month ago, without the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) in the know, said Manoj Patil, a social worker from Vasai.
“There is a huge question on the authenticity of the audit certificates issued to the hospital by the Vasai civic body. The electrical audit of hospitals is to be done every six months by the Public Works Department and the Vasai civic body needs to be questioned over this,” said Patil.
