India hospital fire claims at least six lives, several injured

NEW DELHI: A hospital fire, suspected to be caused by a short circuit, swept through the intensive care unit (ICU) of Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur, India, killing at least six patients and injuring five others, officials said on Monday. 

The blaze, which released "toxic gases", prompted a swift response, with 13 patients safely evacuated from the two affected wards. Hospital official Anurag Dhakad told ANI news agency that the five injured patients remain in critical condition. The hospital in the capital of Rajasthan serves patients from across the desert state.

Fire brigade teams arrived within 20 minutes after the fire began late on Sunday in the neurosurgery ICU, hospital superintendent Sushil Kumar Bhati told the agency.

Most of the hospital equipment was gutted in the roughly two hours it took to bring the fire under control, however, broadcaster NDTV said.

Jaipur Police chief Biju George Joseph said a forensic investigation would determine the exact cause.

The government of Rajasthan, whose capital is Jaipur, has set up a panel to investigate the cause, ANI said.

It will study the hospital's firefighting arrangements and the management's response, as well as steps to avoid similar incidents, the agency added.

Similar hospital fires in India have been blamed on short circuits in electronic equipment.

Ten newborns died from burns and suffocation after a fire in November at a neonatal intensive care unit in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

In May 2024, six newborns died in a fire at a baby care hospital in New Delhi, the capital.