Jaipur Hospital Fire: At least seven critical patients were killed in a fire at the trauma centre of state-run Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Jaipur late Sunday night. According to Dr Anurag Dhakad, the Trauma Centre's in-charge, 11 patients were being treated in the Neuro ICU when the fire erupted in the storage area. "Fourteen other patients were admitted in a different ICU, and all were successfully evacuated to safer locations," PTI quoted Dhakad as saying. A suspected short circuit is believed to have caused the blaze, he added. The deceased were identified as Pintu (from Sikar), Dilip (from Andhi, Jaipur), Shrinath, Rukmini, Khurma (all from Bharatpur) and Bahadur (from Sanganer, Jaipur), officials stated. The fire created chaos in the building, with smoke rapidly spreading throughout the floor and causing panic among patients and their families. Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, along with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel and Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham, visited the trauma centre to assess the situation. When Patel and Bedham reached the hospital, relatives of two patients confronted them, alleging that the staff had fled when the fire broke out. They also complained that hospital authorities had failed to share any information about their patients’ condition. “We noticed smoke and immediately alerted the staff, but they didn’t pay any attention. When the fire started, they were the first to run. Now we can’t get any update about our patients,” said one attendant. Later, Chief Minister Sharma arrived at the site and spoke with doctors and patients. Sending condolences to the victim's family, Former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot said, "The fire in the ICU of the trauma centre 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." He also urged the state government to conduct a high-level investigation into this incident. - with inputs from PTI
