The fire has been put out, officials said

Ahmednagar:

Ten patients have died after a fire broke out in the ICU (intensive care unit) of the Civil Hospital in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar this morning. Another patient has been seriously injured.

The fire was in the hospital’s COVID-19 ward, in which 17 patients had been admitted.

The remaining patients have been shifted to a Covid ward in another hospital, Dr Rajendra Bhosle, the District Collector, told reporters, adding that a ‘fire audit’ of the structure had been conducted.

The cause of the blaze, which has now been extinguished, is as yet unknown, but preliminary investigations by the fire department suggest it started due to an electrical short circuit, Dr Bhosle said.

Visuals show smoke pouring out of the lower floors of the hospital. Others show some people slowly re-entering the ward after the fire was put out, with soot-stained walls and broken ceiling panels visible.

Other videos show the heart-breaking sight of doctors desperately trying to revive some of those caught in the fire, and those fortunate to be shifted out can be seen waiting in the courtyard.

An official inquiry will take place, the senior government official told reporters.

Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik said the ICU had been newly built for the express purpose of treating coronavirus patients, and the fact that a fire had broken out was a “very serious issue”.

Mr Malik said all hospitals had been asked to undertake a ‘fire audit’ and that the Ahmednagar Civil Hospital’s report in this regard would be checked, and a thorough investigation would take place.

The minister also said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray extended his condolences to the families of those who had died, and assured them of every possible support.

NCP leader Sangram Jagtap, who represents the Ahmednagar Assembly seat expressed sorrow and called for those responsible to be held to account, and for the victims’ families to get compensation.

“Today, in the Ahmednagar Civil Hospital, there was a fire… many people lost their lives. Definitely an inquiry will take place, but it must be a (state) government committee and not a local (zilla) committee. We must find out how the fire started and who was responsible,” he told reporters.

“There must also be compensation for the families of those killed and injured,” he added.