NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, AUG 6
After eight coronavirus patients died in a fire inside the ICU ward of a private hospital in Ahmedabad city in the early hours of Thursday, the civic officials sealed it for investigation, officials said.
A para-medical staff member of the hospital was injured in the tragedy.
Saddened by the tragic hospital fire in Ahmedabad. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. Spoke to CM @vijayrupanibjp Ji and Mayor @ibijalpatel Ji regarding the situation. Administration is providing all possible assistance to the affected.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 6, 2020
A cumulative compensation of Rs 6 lakh each for the families of the deceased – five men and three women – was announced by the Centre and Gujarat government.
The blaze broke out around 3.30 am on the top floor of the four-storey Shrey Hospital in Navrangpura area, officials said.
It is one of the 60-odd `designated” private hospitals which have been authorized by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) to treat coronavirus patients.
Deeply anguished by the loss of lives due to a tragic fire accident at a hospital in Ahmedabad. My condolences and thoughts are with the affected families in this hour of grief. Praying for the speedy recovery of those injured.
— Amit Shah (Modi Ka Parivar) (@AmitShah) August 6, 2020
“Eight coronavirus patients admitted in the ICU ward on the fourth floor of Shrey Hospital have died due to fire. 41 other COVID patients who were in the general ward on bottom floors were rescued and shifted to SVP Hospital,” said Rajiv Kumar Gupta, an IAS officer.
Shrey Hospital was sealed for investigation, said Gupta, who has been deputed in Ahmedabad as an officer on special duty.
મુખ્યમંત્રી શ્રી વિજયભાઈ રૂપાણીએ અમદાવાદના નવરંગપુરાની શ્રેય હોસ્પિટલની આગ દુઘર્ટનામાં અવસાન પામેલા વ્યક્તિઓ પ્રત્યે સંવેદના વ્યક્ત કરીને પ્રત્યેક મૃતકના વારસદારને મુખ્યમંત્રી રાહત નીધિમાંથી રૂ. 4 લાખ તથા પ્રત્યેક ઈજાગ્રસ્તને રૂ. 50 હજારની સહાય આપવાની જાહેરાત કરી છે.
— CMO Gujarat (@CMOGuj) August 6, 2020
A preliminary investigation showed that the fire was caused by a short circuit, he said.
Gupta, Municipal Commissioner Mukesh Kumar, and Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi visited the spot.
“We have learned that an electric short circuit led to a blast. The blaze spread in the ward within minutes,” said Kumar.
Ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the hospital fire in Ahmedabad. Rs. 50,000 each would be given to those injured due to the hospital fire.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 6, 2020
According to Chirag Patel, a hospital attendant who saved the lives of three elderly patients, there were eleven patients on the fourth floor when the fire broke out.
The deceased were identified as Lilavati Shah (72), Jyoti Sindhi (55), Ayesha Tirmizi (51), Navneet Shah (80), Arif Mansoori (42), Narendra Shah (62), Arvind Bhavsar (78) and Manu Rami (82).
Additional Commissioner of Police R V Asari told reporters that Bharat Mahant, a trustee of the hospital, was being questioned.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani ordered an inquiry by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sangeeta Singh and her counterpart in the Urban Development Department Mukesh Puri.
The two IAS officers have been asked to submit the inquiry report in three days, the Chief Minister’s Office said in a statement.
Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said that another attendant received 25 to 30 percent burns while trying to save the patients. The attendant and 41 patients were shifted to SVP Hospital, he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident and announced ex gratia compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
“Saddened by the tragic hospital fire in Ahmedabad. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon.
“Spoke to CM @vijayrupanibjp Ji and Mayor @ibijalpatel Ji regarding the situation. Administration is providing all possible assistance to the affected,” the PM tweeted.
Chief Minister Rupani also announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
Brave attendant saves three elderly patients
A 25-year-old attendant showed the presence of mind and unflinching courage as he saved the lives of three elderly patients from a raging fire that broke out early on Thursday at an Ahmedabad-based hospital, where he works.
Eight other patients- five men and three women- who were being treated at the ICU ward of the COVID-19 designated Shrey Hospital in Navrangpura area of the city, died in the blaze, fire brigade officials said.
The fire broke out around 3.30 am on the fourth floor of the four-storey facility, which is one of the 60-odd private hospitals authorised by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) to treat coronavirus patients.
When the fire broke out, there were 11 patients on the fourth floor.
According to police, a special ICU chamber was created on the fourth floor for critical COVID-19 patients.
Hospital attendant Chirag Patel, who risked his own life and saved three elderly patients from the blaze, said the fire was first spotted by another attendant on the fourth floor around 3 am.
“When I went to the fourth floor after that, I saw flames coming out from a monitor of some medical equipment near a patient’s bed. Soon, that patient’s hair caught fire. I doused it immediately,” Patel told reporters after giving his statement to the police.
“Just as I pulled the bed away from the monitor, another attendant’s PPE suit caught fire. Luckily, a doctor came upstairs with a bucket of water and poured it on the attendant and saved him.
“Suddenly, there was a blast inside the ICU ward. Though we went up again to rescue patients, it was not possible to go inside due to thick smoke and extremely low visibility,” he added.
According to Patel, since other attendants and doctors were feeling uneasy due to the smoke, he decided to stay there and ask others to go downstairs for their own safety.
Meanwhile, the hospital staff alerted the fire brigade.
Patel added that there were 11 patients on the fourth floor at that time and their rescue was a difficult task.
“I was the only one left on the fourth floor and I decided to save as many as possible. I first lifted an elderly woman patient, who could not walk, in my arms, and took her downstairs,” he said.
Patel returned to the spot even as thick smoke had engulfed the area. He helped another elderly woman, who had fallen down and could not walk, in climbing down safely along with a male patient.
“Since the smoke was getting very dense and my oxygen level was dropping, I couldn’t go inside again. I then climbed the fourth floor using outside pipes and tried to rescue the patients from windows, but couldn’t break them,” he claimed.
“I am glad that I was able to save three critical patients. For me, a patient’s life is more important than my own life,” the attendant said.
Ravindra Patel, DCP Zone 1, said that the police have recorded the statements of the hospital staff as part of the probe.
“We also recorded the statement of the attendant, who said he has saved the lives of three elderly patients,” the official said.
