Six patients killed in Jaipur govt hospital ICU fire; probe panel formed

Six critical patients were killed in a fire at the trauma centre of the state-run Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Rajasthan’s Jaipur late Sunday (October 5) night.

The state government has formed a high-level committee to probe the incident.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the tragedy, saying in a post in Hindi on X, "The loss of lives due to a fire tragedy at a hospital in Jaipur, Rajasthan, is deeply saddening. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon."

While some reports claimed that eight patients died in the fire, Dr Dhakad and hospital superintendent Dr Sushil Bhati maintained that the number of deaths was six.

Fire starts in storage area

The fire reportedly started in the storage area of the Neuro ICU on the second floor of the trauma centre building. At the time, 11 patients were admitted to the ICU, and six of them — two women and four men — were killed, in charge of the trauma centre, Dr Anurag Dhakad stated. A short circuit is suspected to have caused the blaze, he added.

The deceased were identified as Pintu (from Sikar), Dilip (from Andhi, Jaipur), Shrinath, Rukmini, Khurma (all from Bharatpur), and Bahadur (from Sanganer, Jaipur).

The hospital staff and patient attendants successfully evacuated the remaining patients from both the Neuro ICU and another ICU located in the building, even transporting them with their beds outside the building.

Also read: One dead, 10 injured as fire breaks out at Delhi hospital

Other patients evacuated

“Our trauma centre has two ICUs on the second floor: a trauma ICU and a semi-ICU. We had 24 patients there; 11 in the trauma ICU and 13 in the semi-ICU.… Most of the critical patients were comatose. Our trauma centre team, our nursing officers, and ward boys, immediately rescued them on trolleys and brought as many patients as we could out of the ICU and shifted them to another location,” Dr Dhakad said.

“Six of those patients were very critical; we tried very hard to revive them with CPR, but they couldn’t be saved... Five patients are still critical... We evacuated 24 patients—11 in the trauma ICU and 13 in the adjacent ICU,” Dr Dhakad said, as quoted by news agencies.

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 fire 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.

Smoke spread rapidly

Police Commissioner Biju George Joseph told news agency ANI, “Our FSL team’s investigation will reveal the cause of the fire. At first glance, it appears to be a short circuit, but the final cause will only be determined after the FSL investigation. The death of six people has been confirmed... The remaining have been shifted to another ward and are under treatment.”

The fire sparked 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.

Firefighters arrived shortly after being alerted and brought the fire under control in about two hours. 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.

Also read: TN: Fire breaks out at Ramanathapuram medical college and hospital

Attendants complain

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 arrived, some of the patients' attendants 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.

Om Prakash, whose 25-year-old cousin was one of the patients who died, told news agency ANI that smoke started spreading around 11.20 pm. “I warned doctors that it could cause discomfort to patients but they paid no heed. By the time the smoke spread, the doctors had already fled. My cousin died in the fire. He had recovered and was about to be discharged in two or three days,” he said.

“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 anything,” complained another attendant.

Also read: Tamil Nadu: Six killed in Dindigul hospital fire

Jogendra Singh, another patient’s relative, expressed frustration over the staff’s “negligence”. “My mother was admitted to the ICU. When the spark was first noticed, I told the doctors several times that it was coming from the storage room. But they dismissed it as normal. Suddenly smoke engulfed the entire area and the staff ran out, with no one to save my mother. I had gone out, and when I returned, police were already outside. They said everyone had been evacuated. But my mother and brother were still trapped inside. Somehow, I rescued my brother. But he is now in a critical condition,” he alleged.

Probe committee formed

Later, the chief minister also arrived at the hospital and spoke to the doctors and patients. He termed the incident as extremely unfortunate and assured that immediate relief measures were being taken.

"I visited the hospital and received information from doctors and officials. We are ensuring the safety of patients, treatment, and care for the affected individuals. The situation is being continuously monitored," he posted on X.

In response to the incident, the state government announced the formation of a committee to conduct a thorough investigation. The committee will look into the causes of the fire, the hospital's preparedness and response to the emergency, safety measures, and steps to prevent such incidents in the future.

The committee will be headed by the commissioner of the Medical Education Department, Iqbal Khan. It is expected to submit its detailed report after a site inspection and review of all aspects of the incident.

(With agency inputs)