NEW DELHI, Aug 1: At least eight people including five patients and three hospital staff members were killed and a dozen others injured in a huge fire that broke out in a private hospital in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh on Monday. Visuals from the scene showed huge plumes of smoke billowing from the building.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Siddharth Bahuguna said the fire erupted at New Life Multi-speciality Hospital near Damoh Naka under Jabalpur’s Gohalpur police station area in the afternoon.
Kushargra Thakur, fire officer at Jabalpur, said they received a call at around 2.15 pm after which four fire engines and around 40 firemen rushed to the spot. The fire is said to have broken out in a generator adjoining the hospital owing to voltage fluctuation. It first engulfed the pharmacy which was run by the hospital itself, and then blocked the main entry-exit of the hospital. The nearest fire station was that of ISBT, just about 500 metres from the hospital, and the firefighters reached almost instantly.
The fire team rescued seven people from inside the hospital, most of whom were unconscious and had severe burn injuries.
Thakur said, “The hospital had gotten a fire safety plan approved, but they had not installed a static installation after which they would be given a fire NOC. Regarding this, a notice was also issued to the hospital recently.”
Police said that the fire appears to have been caused due to a short circuit. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced a compensation of ₹ 5 lakhs each for the families of those killed in the fire.
(Manas Dasgupta)
