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Delhi: Major fire breaks out at Paschim Vihar hospital, 6 fire engines at spot
A fire broke out at the Eye Mantra Hospital in Paschim Vihar. Delhi Fire Services sent 6 fire tenders to the spot.
A major fire broke out at Eye Mantra Hospital in New Delhi's Paschim Vihar on Tuesday. The Delhi Fire Services rushed six fire engines to the spot douse the blaze.
The fire broke out on the second floor of the hospital. No one was injured in the incident as people were safely evacuated from the building, a Delhi Fire Services official said. A call was received regarding the incident at 11.35am.
The fire at Eye Mantra Hospital comes days after a massive blaze at a hospital in Vivek Vihar killed six newborns. The Delhi government has directed all state-run and private health facilities to conduct a fire audit, even as several safety lapses have come to light at the five-bed neonatal centre in Vivek Vihar with police also investigating why 27 oxygen cylinders were kept there.
Five of the oxygen cylinders had exploded during the deadly blaze on Saturday night in which five other newborns were also injured.
Delhi health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday said it had been learnt that oxygen refilling was being carried out at the hospital and stressed that it is illegal for a hospital to have a refilling system since it can lead to fire.
A delegation of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which visited the site on Sunday and spoke to officials and family members of the victims, said in its findings that emergency exits were absent in the hospital building, fire extinguishers were non-functional and there was a lack of operational fire alarms and water sprinkler systems.
The commission noted that the lapses constituted a grave contravention of the National Building Code of India, 2016, and guidelines from the National Disaster Management Authority.
The commission's findings, which were shared with the Delhi LG and Police Commissioner, highlighted a troubling lack of preparedness and safety compliance at the nursing home, it said.
On Monday, a city court allowed the Delhi Police’s plea seeking three days of custodial interrogation of the owner and an on-duty doctor of the private hospital.
Chief metropolitan magistrate Vidhi Gupta Anand sent Dr Naveen Khichi, the hospital's owner, and Dr Aaksh to a three-day police custody.
The bodies of six newborns, aged between one day and 20 days, were handed over to their families after post-mortem examination, police said on Monday.
The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
According to official data, fire incidents have taken 55 lives and injured more than 300 people in the national capital so far this year.
The data by Delhi Fire Services (DFS) states that 16 people were killed in fire incidents in January, another 16 in February, 12 in March, four in April, and seven till May 26.
Fire incidents led to 51 injuries in January, 42 in February, 62 in March, 78 in April, and 71 till May 26. From January 1 to May 26, the DFS received 8,912 fire-related calls.
