Hyderabad, Feb 2 (Inditop.com) At least 40 people were injured after a fire broke out in a private hospital here Tuesday, police said.
A police officer said all those trapped in the building were rescued and the fire was doused after a two-hour battle by fire fighters.
The fire broke out in the 100-bedded Park Super Speciality Hospital in the busy Somajiguda area in the heart of the city. The fire is believed to have broken out on the ground floor of the five-storeyed building due to an electrical short circuit. The smoke enveloped the entire building.
The injured included patients, their attendants, nurses and other medical and paramedical staff. The incident led to panic in the area. Some patients and nurses, who were trapped on the roof, were later rescued.
Three of those trapped jumped out of the building, sustaining grievous injuries. Doctors at a nearby private hospital where the injured were admitted said some were brought with burn injuries while others suffered suffocation due to smoke.
The patients who were rescued were wheeled to waiting ambulances. The condition of six injured, including two nurses, who jumped out of the building, is stated to be critical. One of the nurses suffered heart failure and has been put on ventilator.
The injured were shifted to Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) and Yashoda Hospital.
Commissioner of Police A.K. Khan said eight patients were rescued from the Intensive Care Unit. He said it was a very difficult task for the rescuers as the patients were not even able to walk.
“The exact cause of the fire will be known only after a thorough probe,” said Khan.
Fire services officials said the hospital building had no fire safety measures. Health Minister Danam Nagender told reporters that a high level inquiry had been ordered into the incident.
The minister said special teams would be constituted to check fire safety measures in all hospitals in the city.
