Fires and untoward mishaps at hospitals in Maharashtra has become a dangerously common occurrence. After a spate of accidents was reported at several hospitals earlier this year, another such unfortunate incident has been reported from Ahmednagar where a major fire broke out at the District Hospital on November 6, killing at least 10 coronavirus patients and leaving scores of others injured.
The fire broke out at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the District Hospital, where at least 25 patients were admitted, according to a report published by India Today. Six of them suffered serious burn injuries in the incident.
Prima facie reports suggest that an electrical short-circuit may have started the fire. However, the exact cause of conflagration can only be determined after a thorough probe into the matter is completed. According to the sources, the fire broke out at the COVID ward in the new building of the hospital at around 11 am today morning.
The state government announced Rs 5 lakh compensation to the next of kin of those who died in the fire at Maharashtra hospital.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has expressed his condolences over the deaths and has also ordered a probe into the incident. The district collector Rajendra Bhosale has reportedly been asked to conduct an inquiry into the incident and submit the report within a week.
The tragedy is another incident in the growing list of hospital mishaps witnessed in Maharashtra this year, which is a reflection of the crumbling health infrastructure in the state. Here are some of the accidents that have taken place in hospitals across Maharashtra this year:-
Major conflagration at Thane hospital
A major fire broke out at Mumbra’s Prime Criticare Hospital in the wee hours of April 28, leaving at least four patients dead. The hospital, located in Mumbra’s Kausa was a non-Covid hospital, and had more than 20 patients admitted when a fire erupted.
Preliminary reports suggested the fire broke out in the meter room of the hospital due to a short circuit. Within no time the fire spread to other areas of the two-floored hospital being run in a residential building.
Fire breaks out at Vijay Vallabh Covid Care hospital in Mumbai’s Virar, 13 dead
Earlier this year, a fire broke out at the ICU unit of the Vijay Vallabh Covid Care hospital in Virar West, Mumbai. At least 13 Covid-19 patients died after inhaling toxic fumes.
The fire reportedly started at 3 am in the morning on April 23 in the air conditioning unit of the hospital’s ICU, where, as many as 17 patients were being treated for the infection. After the fire broke, the Vasai Virar Corporation fire brigade reached the spot and doused the fire. However, until then, 13 people have lost their lives to the fire.
Oxygen leak from a tanker in Nasik left 24 patients dead
The hospitals and COVID care centres across the country are grappling with the scarcity of medicinal oxygen as the number of coronavirus cases surge. Amidst acute shortages of oxygen, an oxygen tanker leaked while being filled at Dr Zakir Hussain Hospital, Nashik.
Ventilators in the hospital were stopped for at least 30 minutes due to the oxygen deprivation caused by the tank leak. This temporary suspension of ventilators led to the death of 24 people, who had died because of oxygen deprivation.
10 COVID-19 patients reportedly die after fire breaks out at Bhandup mall in Mumbai which had COVID-19 hospital on the top floor
In March 2021, a massive fire broke out at a mall in Mumbai’s Bhandup area, which also accommodated a COVID-19 hospital, Sunrise Hospital, on its top floor. At the time the fire broke out as many as 76 COVID-19 patients were admitted to the hospital, which was located on the third floor of a mall. 10 people, all coronavirus patients, had reportedly died in the incident.
CNN News 18 accessed documents that showed Dreams Mall, Bhandup, the mall where the hospital was located had flouted fire safety norms. There were no fire safety norms at the mall. Earlier, BMC had carried out an assessment on Mumbai malls regarding the fire safety norms, and Dream Mall was amongst the 29 malls which were declared unsafe as it did not comply with the fire safety norms.
Blaze at a District General Hospital in Maharashtra claims the lives of 10 infants
Earlier in January, 10 newborn babies aged between 1 to 2 months lost their lives in a fire that broke out at Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) at Bhandara District General Hospital. There were a total of seventeen babies kept in the Unit, but only seven of them could be rescued.
Most newborns died due to suffocation. One baby had fatal injuries, and two others had minor burn injuries. The rest inhaled a lot of smoke, a doctor at the hospital later said.
