Five COVID-19 patients die in Indian hospital fire
- 27 Nov 2020
Gulf Today Report
Five patients died after a fire broke out in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a COVID-19 designated hospital in the Indian state of Gujarat on Friday.
Twenty seven other coronavirus patients being treated at the hospital were rescued. Since the virus outbreak, this is the fourth fire outbreak case in a hospital in India.
The Friday morning blaze in Rajkot city in the western state of Gujrat gutted the ICU ward of the private hospital, television footage showed.
Government official Udit Agarwal speculated electrical short circuit to be the cause of the fire in the hospital.
"Three of the patients in the ICU died on the spot, and two others succumbed on way to hospital. The two other patients in the ICU were unhurt," Agarwal said.
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Due to recurring fire incidents, the Supreme Court has ordered federal and state government hospitals to submit detail reports of the fires.
The Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani ordered a probe into the incident. The chief minister also announced a compensation of Rs400,000 each to the kin of the victims.