The fire broke out in the hospital’s trauma department on Monday, March 16
A devastating fire inside a hospital intensive care unit has left at least 10 patients dead and several staff members injured. Authorities say the blaze broke out suddenly, triggering an emergency response as medical teams and firefighters rushed to evacuate patients.
The incident occurred on Monday, March 16, at around 2:30 a.m. local time with the fire starting at the trauma ICU department of the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack in the state of Odisha, according to the BBC, Reuters and The Hindu.
State Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi told the press that the victims were patients, adding that 11 hospital staff, including security, who tried to rescue patients were being treated for burns, per the BBC.
“As many as 23 patients undergoing treatment on the first floor of trauma care were shifted,” the Chief Minister, who visited the hospital after the incident, said, per The Hindu.
In addition to the trauma department, “adjacent wards were also affected.”
PEOPLE has reached out to Mohan Charan Majhi and SCB Medical College and Hospital for comment but didn’t immediately receive responses.
“While shifting, seven patients succumbed to injuries. Subsequently, another three patients died in the ICU during treatment,” he added.
The fire is believed to have been caused by an electrical short circuit, according to the BBC and The Hindu.
Majhi told the media that the family members of the deceased victims would receive Rs. 25 lakh each ($27,000), per The Hindu.
“Honorable Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi spoke with me over the telephone regarding the tragic incident that occurred at SCB Medical College in Cuttack,” he wrote on X. “I have informed him about the emergency measures being taken for all those affected, the evacuation process, and the specialized medical services being provided to them. I have also provided information about the high-level inter-departmental inquiry directed by the state government.”
Majhi added that he visited the hospital in the morning “and instructed the administration to provide all kinds of government assistance to the affected. All the concerned departments and teams are working tirelessly with full coordination.”
