Eight critically ill patients lost their lives in a tragic fire that erupted late Sunday night at the trauma centre of Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Jaipur, a state-run facility.
Dr. Anurag Dhakad, who oversees the trauma centre, stated that the blaze started in the storage area adjacent to the Neuro ICU, where 11 patients were being treated. He informed PTI that a suspected short circuit may have caused the fire.
The flames quickly spread, destroying essential documents, ICU equipment, blood sample tubes, and other medical supplies housed in the storage room.
Vikas, a ward boy present at the scene, recounted the frightening moments: “We were inside the operating theatre when we heard about the fire. We rushed to rescue the people inside the centre and managed to save at least three or four patients. But as the flames intensified, it became impossible to enter the building again. We did our best to rescue as many as we could,” he told PTI.
He noted that the police arrived later but were initially unable to enter due to thick smoke engulfing the ward.
When firefighters arrived, the trauma centre was fully filled with smoke. To access the building, they had to break a window on the opposite side before starting to extinguish the flames.
Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma visited the hospital to assess the situation, accompanied by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel and Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham. However, their presence was met with anger and grief from the families of two patients, who accused hospital staff of negligence during the incident.
“They ran away first when the fire broke out,” an attendant said, his voice shaking with emotion. “We had seen smoke earlier and informed the staff, but no one listened. Now, no one is telling us what happened to our patients. We just want to know their condition.”
The incident remains under investigation as authorities seek to ascertain further details regarding the cause and the hospital’s response.
Tags: Jaipur hospital fire, death toll, families allege, staff ignored warnings, tragedy
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