Jaipur hospital fire: At least 8 killed; CM Bhajanlal Sharma visits site

Jaipur: At least eight patients were killed as a fire raged at the Trauma Centre in the state’s biggest government-run Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur late on Sunday night.

The blaze started around 11:20 pm on Sunday night in a storeroom, spread  to the Neuro ICU ward of the Trauma Centre. Initial reports suggest a short circuit as the cause of fire. The storeroom contained paper, ICU equipment and blood samples. Thick smoke spread rapidly, sparking panic and fear amongst the patients. At least 11 patients were being treated at Neuro ICU when the fire erupted in the storage area, according to trauma centre in-charge Dr Anurag Dhakad. Another 13 patients were in the next ICU. 

The deceased were identified as Pintu from Sikar, Dilip and Bahadur from Jaipur, Srinath and Kushma from Bharatpur, Digambar Verma from Sawai Madhopur and Sarvesh from Agra. Three of the patients Sarvesh, Rukmini and Kushma were females. 

Eyewitnesses say smoke started emanating at least 20 minutes before the fire actually began and hospital staff were told about it. 

Sheru from Bharatpur says the smoke thickened around 11.20 pm and plastic tubes started melting. But the ward boys started fleeing from the place. Sheru said that the families themselves shifted their patients out of the wards before the fire spread rapidly. 

Families of patients have alleged negligence by hospital staff and that they were left to fend for their family members as hospital staff fled from the scene as the fire broke out. They have also accused the hospital staff from withholding the information about the condition of the patients. 

While Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma visited the site to assess the situation, there have been sloganeering against the state health minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar and demand for thorough investigations.

Families, however, say they do not trust that anything will come out of the probe or that anybody will ever be held accountable.