PM Modi expresses grief over Jaipur hospital fire tragedy

Jaipur, Oct 6 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday condoled the loss of lives in the Jaipur hospital fire tragedy and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.

Eight people were killed after a fire broke out in the ICU ward of Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Rajasthan's Jaipur, officials said early on Monday.

The fire caused chaos in the building as smoke quickly spread throughout the floor, leading to panic among patients and their families. Many items were destroyed, including various documents, ICU equipment, blood sample tubes, and other materials stored in the area.

"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," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

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

In charge of SMS Hospital, Jagdish Modi mentioned that the fire was caused by a short-circuit.

Modi told IANS that the team of doctors from the trauma centre, along with the nursing staff, worked together to evacuate the patients.

"We tried to do our best to evacuate people. We shifted the patients to nearby wards, but there was panic due to the fire. But we tried our best to calm everyone down," he added.

Upon the arrival of the fire team, the entire ward was filled with smoke. The firefighters had to break a window on the opposite side of the building to begin extinguishing the fire.

Speaking to IANS, Police Commissioner Biju George Joseph said, "There is no fire now; it has been completely extinguished. However, the neuro ICU ward is entirely damaged by the blaze, and even the ceiling has collapsed. It was very difficult to evacuate the admitted patients, but our team and hospital staff worked hard and managed to move them quickly to nearby wards."

"After the forensic report, we can determine the cause of the fire," he added.

Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel and Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham also arrived at the incident site to take stock of the situation and assured all possible help to the patients.

--IANS

sd/