Thirteen patients admitted at a Maharashtra Hospital died due to a fire mishap on the 23rd of April.
The 13 Novel Coronavirus patients who were in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) died in a fire at Vijay Vallabh Hospital in Virar, 70 km from Mumbai, Maharashtra.
According to Dilip Shah, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Hospital, “Around 90 patients were admitted to the hospital at the time of the incident.”
An eyewitness, Avinash Patil said, “I got a call at around 3:00 A.M. from a friend whose mother in law was admitted to the hospital. As I reached the hospital, I saw fire engines outside. The ICU at the second floor was engulfed in smoke. Only two nurses were there, and I couldn’t see a doctor. It took firefighters about half an hour to put out the flames. We could see eight-ten bodies there.” He also said that the hospital authorities were not following fire norms.
However, the Hospital authorities rejected the claims of Avinash Patil and said doctors were present there and worked round the clock.
Speaking about the reason behind the fire, the District Disaster Control Cell Chief Vivekanand Kadam said that the fire was preceded by an explosion in the AC unit of the ICU. He added, the fire was under control within an hour by the firefighters from the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation.
The incident came at a time when Maharashtra is facing the second wave of COVID-19, being the worst hit Indian state. In addition, in the past two days, it is the second incident which killed COVID-19 patients at hospital. Recently, on the 21st of April, 11 people were killed in an unfortunate incident of oxygen tanker leakage. The incident happened outside Zakir Hussain Hospital in Nashik, Maharashtra.
Over 67,000 fresh cases have been reported since yesterday. With a total caseload of over 40 lakh infections.
Also read: Maharashtra Government Imposes Additional Restrictions To Break The Chain Of COVID-19
