8 Patients Dead In Jaipur Hospital Fire, Families Allege Staff Ignored Warnings

Eight critical patients were killed in a fire at the trauma centre of the state-run Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Jaipur late Sunday night, officials stated.

Trauma centre in-charge Dr Anurag Dhakad said that 11 patients were being treated in the Neuro ICU when the fire erupted in the storage area. A suspected short circuit is believed to have caused the blaze, he added.

The fire created chaos in the building, 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.

Hospital staff and patient attendants evacuated patients, even transporting them with their beds outside the building. Firefighters arrived shortly after being alerted and brought the fire under control in approximately two hours.

Vikas, a ward boy who was at the scene, told PTI 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.

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

Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel and Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham visited the trauma centre to take stock of the situation.

When Patel and Bedham initially arrived, the attendants of two patients expressed their anguish, alleging that the staff fled during the fire. They also claimed that the hospital staff could not provide updates on their patients' conditions.

"We noticed smoke and immediately informed the staff, but they did not pay any heed. When the fire broke out, they were the first to run. Now, we cannot get any information about our patients. We want to know their condition, but no one is telling us," one attendee said.

Later, the chief minister also arrived at the scene and spoke to the doctors and patients.