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Maharashtra hospital victims’ kin in shock, allege negligence
Fire at the intensive care unit of Ahmednagar civil hospital on Saturday claimed lives of at least 11 Covid-19 patients
Scenes of helplessness and panic were witnessed at Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar civil hospital on Saturday where a fire at the intensive care unit claimed lives of at least 11 Covid-19 patients.
A few relatives were expecting discharge of their kin undergoing treatment for Covid-19.
Thirty-one-year-old Vivek Khatik’s mother and father were recovering well from the infection and he was told by doctors that they would be discharged soon. He had stepped out of the hospital to buy juice for his parents from a nearby stall when the fire occurred.
“My parents were admitted to the ICU ward for the last few days. They were recovering well. This morning, the hospital staff asked us to go out as the ward had to be cleaned.. I then went out to get juice,” he said.
“As soon as I reached the stall, I got a call from a relative who informed me about the fire in the hospital. I rushed back and saw black smoke coming out from the ICU section,” he said.
While his 65-year-old father, Kadu Bal Gangadhar Khatik, died in the incident, authorities managed to shift his 50-year-old mother, Alka, to a safer area.
“I then went back and lifted my father with the help of others. When he stopped breathing, I started pumping his chest to revive him following instructions from the others. However, not much happened,” he said.
Khatik’s father was among several senior citizens who were killed in the fire which was reportedly caused by a short-circuit.
Like Khatik, several others were awaiting discharge of their kin.
Bhagwan Pawar said his 80-year-old father, Bhivaji Pawar, too was on the path of recovery. “We had talked about his discharge the previous night and he was very happy. But fate had something else in store for us,” he said.
Pawar too had stepped out from the hospital in view of the cleaning work when the incident occurred.
“While we were outside, the fire broke out and black smoke started billowing from the ICU. We had to break the window panes in order to rescue the patients,” he said.
Shyam Ghodechor, who lost his mother Satyabhama Ghodechor in the tragedy,
alleged lack of fire safety measures in the hospital.
“My mother was recovering in the ICU. When the fire broke out and thick smoke started coming out, there was no equipment available inside the hospital to bring the situation under control. At the same time, we had to break the window panes using stones as there was no opening for the smoke to escape,” he said.
A few others in the hospital managed to save their family members who were admitted in the ICU. Avinash Vidhate managed to save his 80-year-old grandfather Rambha Bai Vidhate on time and shift him to a private hospital, where he is currently undergoing treatment.
