Fourteen critically ill patients, including 10 on ventilator support, were moved out of the ICU at the government-run Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Jaipur, Rajasthan after water leakage from a pipeline left the ward flooded, a hospital official said on Tuesday.
According to hospital staff, nearly six inches of water accumulated in the ICU on Monday night.
SMS Hospital Trauma Centre in-charge Dr B L Yadav said the area where the ICU stands earlier housed rooms and toilets, and old water pipelines were buried during the construction. Over time, the pipelines corroded, which resulted in the water leakage last night.
Due to the leakage, 14 patients admitted to the ICU were shifted to other parts of the hospital. Of the 14, 10 were on ventilator support, he said.
The damaged pipelines have now been repaired, Yadav added.
Hospital staff said nearly six inches of water accumulated inside the ICU. Due to the presence of medical equipment, there was a risk of electric shock.
The incident comes days after at least six people died and hundreds were hospitalised after consuming water mixed with sewage in Madhya Pradesh's Indore.
The crisis began in the Bhagirathpura area in late December last year. Local government officials discovered a huge leak within a major water pipeline carrying drinking water in the area. It was found that water contamination occurred in an area where a toilet was constructed over the water mains in a police outpost.
Government officials admitted the sewage overflow from the toilet spilled over into the water mains, causing the outbreak of severe episodes of vomiting and diarrhoea.
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