Fire erupts in Gwalior hospital's ICU, over 190 patients rescued

Gwalior: A fire broke out in a government hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior city early on Sunday, following which more than 190 patients were rescued from the medical facility, officials said.

No casualty was reported in the incident, they said.

The blaze erupted at around 1 am in an air-conditioner of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the gynaecology department of the Kamla Raja Hospital, which is part of the Gajra Raja Medical College, Gwalior Collector Ruchika Chouhan said.

More than 190 patients, including 13 from the ICU, were rescued and shifted to another hospital, officials said.

The guards of the hospital immediately evacuated the patients admitted in the ICU by breaking the windows and shifted them to a super speciality hospital, Chouhan said.

All patients of the ICU and other wards of the hospital were safe, she said, adding a probe will be conducted into the incident.

A release from the state Public Relations Department said a short-circuit was likely to have caused the fire in the gynaecology department of the Kamla Raja Hospital.

The hospital guards and ward boys immediately shifted out the patients and fire tenders of the Gwalior Municipal Corporation later controlled the blaze, it said.

As many as 13 patients from the ICU and nearly 180 from other wards of the hospital were evacuated and shifted to the super speciality hospital in the medical college campus, the release said.

An attendant of a patient said, "The hospital premises was filled with smoke after the fire broke out. The staff there immediately started shifting all the patients. Nothing was visible at that time. At present, our patient is fine and has been kept at a new place."