Broken glasses, ashes, charred Intensive Care Unit and scattered slippers - these are the visuals from the inside of the trauma centre of the state-run Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Jaipur where a massive fire broke out late Sunday night. Six of the patients undergoing treatment at Jaipur's largest hospital died of burns and suffocation. The hospital staff locked the ICU gate and ran away, alleged families of the victims. The relatives had to rescue their patients themselves.
NDTV was the first channel to reach the SMS Hospital soon after the fire broke out. According to the relatives of the patients, who died in the fire, the hospital staff locked the ICU gate soon after the fire spread and ran away.
Police constable Hari Mohan, who was at the hospital for a test, broke the glass with a fire extinguisher and saved patients by pulling them out with bedsheets, he told NDTV.
Non-Existent Evacuation Plan
The hospital building had only one fireman and a helper, meaning only one skilled person was available at fore.
Neither did the fire alarm go off at the time of the incident, nor did sprinklers on the second-floor work.
Dashrat Gujar, brother of Pintu Gujar killed in fire, claims to have informed the hospital administration of short circuit, but his plea was also ignored.
"The hospital staff said nothing will happen and it (short circuit) will settle down," he added. "Within minutes the smoke filled the room and staff fled. The fire alarm didn't ring. Even the fire extinguisher was empty. Fire brigade arrived after an hour, extinguished the fire, after which we entered from the back gate and pulled out our patient on bedsheet," he added.
Families have alleged that there was no evacuation plan in place. It was complete chaos when the fire broke out, they said.
Night Of Horror At Jaipur Hospital
Rukmani Kaur, 55, was admitted to the SMS Hospital on September 17 after she suffered a brain hemorrhage. Her two sons - Sheru Singh and Joginder Singh - saw the moment the short circuit happened and alerted the hospital staff, but nobody paid heed to them.
"We were reassured that short circuit will settle down," said Joginder Singh. "The plaster began to melt and drop. It is then the doctors started to move out beds. When smoke increased, the hospital staff fled. Soon the fire broke out, and neither of us were allowed to go inside the ICU to save our patients. My elder brother, Sheru, somehow went inside to save our mother," he told NDTV.
Sheru Singh claims to have raised an alarm at 11:15 pm when he noticed spark and smoke. Hours later, he jumped into the fire-engulfed ICU to rescue his mother but all in vain. Sheru Singh's hands are still black from the smoke.
I want my mother back, says Sheru.
Narendra Kumar's mother, Kushma, was admitted to SMS on October 1 following a road accident. Kushma was recovering and was set to be discharged soon. The family was looking forward to welcoming her home, but she too died in the fire.
"We have no information about my mother," said Narendra, crying inconsolably outside the hospital. "They locked the door," he added.
Narendra had come downstairs to have dinner at the time of the incident. He is still looking for his mother's body.
"My father said, 'teri maiyan jal gayi' (your mother burnt to death)," said Narendra's wife, howling.
Anurag Dhakad, Trauma Centre In-Charge, SMS Hospital, has refuted all claims. Speaking to NDTV, Dhakad said that the smoke and toxic gases spread quickly, making it difficult for them to enter the trauma centre and rescue patients. However, the trauma centre team and the ground staff, including ward boys, all worked towards rescuing patients, he added.
"We used a fire extinguisher and called the fire brigade. The electric current was also spreading. Six of the patients died of burns and suffocation. We will have more clarity following a post-mortem."
The bodies will be handed over to patients' families after post-mortem examinations.
Rajasthan's Chief Minister, Bhajanlal Sharma, visited the hospital late at night to take stock of the situation. He called the incident "extremely unfortunate".
