8 patients die as fire grips Jaipur hospital, families allege staff ignored warnings

PTC News Desk: At least 8 patients were killed after a fire broke out at at Jaipur’s state-run Sawai Man Singh Hospital on Sunday night. The blaze erupted in the Intensive Care Unit, suspected to have been caused by short circuit, with smoke rapidly spreading throughout the floor and causing panic among patients and their families. 

Various documents, ICU equipment, blood sample tubes, and other items stored in the area were gutted by the fire. Meanwhile the families have alleged that the hospital staff fled the scene after the fire spread rapidly. 

Vikas, a ward boy who was at the scene, said that he and other staff members rescued as many people as they could before the flames worsened.

"We were inside the operating theatre when we heard about the fire, so we immediately rushed to rescue the people inside the centre. We managed to save at least three to four patients. However, as the flames intensified, we could no longer go into the building. We did our best to rescue as many as we could," he said.

He added that the police arrived later, but they could not enter the building immediately due to the heavy smoke.

The entire ward was engulfed in smoke when a team of firefighters arrived and they to break a window on the opposite side of the building to start extinguishing the fire.

Meanwhile Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma visited the trauma centre to take stock of the situation. He also spoke to the doctors and patients.