Patients rescued after blaze hits Gujarat hospital

As many as 12 critical COVID-19 patients were rescued and shifted to safer places after a fire broke out in the ICU of a private hospital on Sunday night.

Surat (Gujarat): As many as 12 critical COVID-19 patients were rescued and shifted to safer places after a fire broke out in the ICU of a private hospital on Sunday night, officials said.

A fire broke out in Ayush Hospital located on the fifth floor of a multi-story building on Station Road in Surat at around 11.40 pm Sunday, after which sixteen patients admitted in the ICU were rescued and shifted to safer places with no casualty being reported in the incident, the officials said.

The fire broke out after a blast in the air conditioner caused either due to the short circuit or overloading, he said.

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Patients rescued by the fire department personnel were taken to different hospitals including SMIMER, a hospital run by the city civic body, Sanjeevani Hospital, and to other floors of the Ayush Hospital, said Basant Pareek, In-charge Chief Fire Officer of Surat Municipal Commission (SMC).

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As many as fifteen fire tenders were rushed to the hospital after the fire was reported at around 11.40 pm, and the fire was brought under control within half an hour with the help of two tenders, Pareek said.

READ:13 patients die as fire breaks out at Covid hospital in Palghar

Earlier in a similar incident in Maharashtra, thirteen COVID-19 patients died after a fire broke out at a COVID Center in Vasai of Palghar district on Friday morning. According to officials, the blaze broke out at 3 am in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Vijay Vallabh Hospital in Virar West.

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