Kolkata: A patient died in a massive fire at Sealdah Employees State Insurance (ESI) Hospital in Kolkata on Friday morning. The deceased victim of this accident has been identified as Uttam Bardhan. He was undergoing treatment for cancer in the hospital.
He was admitted to the Critical Care Unit (CCU) of the same hospital in a state of discomfort due to smoke, where he died during treatment. At the same time, the rest of the patients were safely shifted to other wards of the hospital. The fire was first reported to a hospital employee, who saw smoke rising from the male surgery ward located on the first floor and immediately informed the authorities.
At least 10 fire engines reached the spot to extinguish the fire. 80 patients admitted in the male surgery ward of the hospital were safely evacuated by firefighters and personnel of the State Disaster Management Department.
State Fire Services Minister Sujit Basu reached the hospital and monitored the fire extinguishing operation and evacuation of patients. The minister said, “The fire officials and firefighters have done a great job. They were able to control the fire in a very short time, which prevented any damage. Fortunately, the fire broke out when there was not much crowd in the hospital.”
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The hospital authorities have said that the outdoor unit of the hospital will remain closed for the day. The cause of the fire is not yet known, although fire officials suspect that a short circuit may have caused the fire. After receiving information about the fire, relatives of the patients admitted in the hospital reached the spot. However, fire department officials assured them that everything is under control.
