At least 16 people including Covid-19 patients and hospital staff died in a fire that broke out at a hospital in Bharuch at 1 am on Saturday.
Run by a charitable trust, Patel Welfare Hospital reported the fire in the early ours of Saturday at one of its Covid-19 wards.
Informing the media about the incident, Bharuch Superintendent of Police, Rajendrasinh Chudasama stated that from the initial observation it appeared that the patients had died due to the fire and resultant smoke. Other patients were shifted safely to nearby hospitals.
Of the total about 70 patients admitted in the hospital for Covid-19 treatment, 24 were said to be under Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has declared ₹4 lakh compensation to the victims' families. The Chief Minister has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind also expressed their condolences on the tragic incident. Expressing his condolences on the loss of human lives, Modi tweeted, “Pained by the loss of lives due to a fire at a hospital in Bharuch. Condolences to the bereaved families.”
This is the third such major fire incident in the State over the past one year where Covid-19 patients lost the lives. In March, 17 died in a fire at Vadodara's Vijay Vallabh Covid-19 hospital, and in August last year, a fire incident at Ahmedabad's Shrey Hospital claimed lives of eight Covid-19 patients.