E-Paper
10 dead, 7 injured as fire breaks out in Maharashtra hospital
A statement released from CM Thackeray’s office offered condolences to the kin of the dead while ordering a detailed probe and action against those found guilty of any negligence
At least 10 elderly patients who were being treated for Covid-19 infection in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a civil hospital in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district died in a fire on Saturday morning. Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has asked the district collector to probe the incident.
Fire brigade officials said everyone in the ICU was badly burnt. They added that the injured were shifted to another room immediately.
District collector Rajendra Bhosale claimed that short circuit could have started the fire inside the ICU ward set up around 18 months ago. However, the exact cause of the fire can only be determined following a detailed investigation.
“There were 17 Covid patients admitted [to the ICU] when the fire broke out at around 11 am. 10 out of the 17 have lost their lives. Short circuit seems to be the possible cause of the incident,” said Bhosale. The fire brigade personnel claimed they managed to put out the fire within half an hour.
A statement released from CM Thackeray’s office offered condolences to the kin of the dead while ordering a detailed probe and action against those found guilty of any negligence.
“As soon as he came to know about the incident, the chief minister spoke to the district guardian minister Hasan Mushrif and chief secretary (Sitaram Kunte) and asked [them] to ensure [that] those needing medical attention don’t face any difficulties,” the statement added.
The district administration announced financial help to the next of kin of the deceased. State minister Hasan Mushrif said the “guilty” will not be spared.
Also Read: I-T detects irregularities in Maharashtra bank, freezes ₹53.72 crore
The deceased including four women and six males have been identified as Sitaram Dagdu Jadhav ( 83), Ramkisan Vithhal Harpude ( 70), Satyabhama Shivaji Ghodchoure (65) , Kadubal Gangadhar Khatik ( 65), Shivaji Sadashiv Pawar ( 82), Deepak Vishwanath Jedgule (57) , Kondiba Madhukar Madam( 70), Asrabai Nangre ( 58), Chabibi Ahmed Sayyed ( 65) apart from an unidentified person. Of the seven injured, one was reported to be critical, authorities said.
Health department officials said that there were two wings of ICU in Ahmednagar civil hospital, one on the first floor and the second on the ground floor, where the fire broke out.
State minorities minister Nawab Malik said the state government had ordered a fire audit of each hospital following similar incidents in the past. “This was a newly set up ICU inside the hospital. Whether fire audit was conducted there or not will be revealed during the investigation.”
