Ten Covid-19 patients have died after a fire broke out inside a hospital ICU in Ahmednagar, a city in India’s western Maharashtra state, on Saturday morning. One person was also injured.
A preliminary investigation suggests the blaze was caused by a short circuit, District Collector Rajendra Bhosle said, Indian media reports. Another official was quoted as saying that the destroyed ICU had recently been built to treat Covid-19 patients.
Maharashtra | A total of 10 people died in a fire incident at Ahmednagar District Hospital, said District Collector Rajendra Bhosale pic.twitter.com/zrUnAMKNMj
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray ordered an investigation into the incident. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “anguished” by the loss of lives.
Anguished by the loss of lives due to a fire in a hospital in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest.
India has seen several deadly ICU fires this year. In April, 14 patients were killed in a blaze at a hospital in Virar, Maharashtra. A similar fire broke out at a hospital in the state of Gujarat the following month, where 16 patients and two nurses died.
