Fire at Gorakhpur clinic; no casualties

Gorakhpur (UP), Aug 28 (PTI) A fire broke out Thursday afternoon at a private clinic here, prompting the immediate evacuation of patients, the fire brigade said. No casualties were reported.

The blaze erupted around 1.50 pm -- likely due to a short-circuit -- at Sanjay Fracture Clinic on Rustampur Highway under Ramgarh Tal Police Station limits, said an official.

The hospital, run by orthopaedic surgeon Dr Sanjay Vishwakarma, also houses his family in its residential quarters.

Eyewitnesses said flames quickly spread through aluminium composite panel (ACP) sheets installed on the hospital lawn, sending a column of thick smoke up, visible from afar.

Relatives and staff shifted patients out of the building.

It took two fire tenders to douse the blaze about half an hour, officials said.

"Had the fire spread inside, the damage could have been severe. Timely intervention prevented a major tragedy," Fire Station Officer Shantanu Yadav said. PTI COR ABN ABN VN VN