Eighteen Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 patients were killed in a fire incident at a Gujarat Hospital.
The incident took place in the early hours of the 1st of May at a COVID-19 hospital in Bharuch, Gujarat. The COVID-19 designated hospital is situated on the Bharuch Jambusar highway, around 190 km from Ahmedabad and is being run by a trust.
According to sources, a fire broke out in the COVID-19 ward of the Welfare Hospital at 1:00 A.M. The cause of the fire is yet to be known.
In the hospital, 50 patients were admitted in the ward, while 18 of them died, the remaining were rescued by firefighters and shifted to other hospitals. Gut-wrenching visuals of the tragedy that went viral on social media showed remains of some patients burned alive on stretchers and beds.
Rajendrasinh Chudasama, the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Bharuch Police Station said, “According to primary information, probably 12 people have been killed in the incident of fire at Patel Welfare Hospital’s dedicated COVID-19 care centre at 12:30 pm in Bharuch.” Later, the SP said, “As per information at 6.30 am, the toll in the tragedy stood at 18. Immediately after the fire, we had confirmation of 12 deaths.”
Vijay Rupani, the Gujarat Chief Minister announced a compensation of Rs. 4 lakh to the kin of the victims who lost lives in the Baruch Hospital fire incident. The Chief Minister also directed two senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officials to conduct an inquiry into the incident. Additional Chief Secretary Vipul Mitra and Raj Kumar Beniwal have been asked to conduct and supervise the inquiry.
Further, the Government is contemplating to order a judicial inquiry into the incident.
More details awaited.
Stay tuned for further updates.
Also read: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray Orders Probe In Virar Hospital Fire Mishap
