Six killed as fire ravages ICU of Jaipur's SMS hospital; relatives allege smoke alarm ignored, staff left post

Jaipur, Oct 6 (PTI) A massive fire blazed through the neuro ICU of Jaipur's state-run Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in the dead of the night, killing six patients on critical care support, officials said on Monday.

Eleven patients were being treated in the ICU at the time. The fire, which erupted in the storage area around midnight, is suspected to have been caused by a short circuit.

The flames spread fast and rescuers could pull out only five patients.

According to a hospital official, six people, two women and four men, died, and five are undergoing treatment. Fourteen other patients were admitted to a different ICU. They all were rescued in time.

The deceased were identified as Pintu from Sikar, Dilip and Bahadur from Jaipur, and Shrinath, Rukmini, and Kusuma from Bharatpur.

The government announced Rs 10 lakh in compensation to the next of the kin of the deceased.

It also removed SMS hospital superintendent Dr Sushil Bhati and Trauma Centre in-charge Dr Anurag Dhakad from their posts. The two were replaced by Dr Mrinal Joshi and Dr B L Yadav.

The tender of the fire safety agency was cancelled, and legal proceedings were underway against the company, an official said.

Walls blackened with smoke and soot, equipment twisted out of shape in the heat, and shattered glass told the tale of the horrors that unfolded when the fire broke out.

Expressing grief over the tragedy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an X post in Hindi, "The loss of lives due to a fire tragedy at a hospital in Jaipur, Rajasthan, is deeply saddening. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon." Union Home Minister Amit Shah termed the incident tragic.

"The local administration is taking every possible step for the safety of patients, their treatment, and the care of those affected," he said on X.

The state government has formed a high-level committee to probe the incident.

SMS Hospital is Rajasthan's biggest government health facility, treating patients from across the state and elsewhere.

Anguished relatives held a brief protest and alleged that authorities were negligent, ignoring warnings and fleeing instead of rescuing the ailing and sick.

Among them was Rukmini's son Joginder.

"My mother was recovering and was supposed to be fine. But this disaster happened. When the smoke started, there were 15 to 16 people in the ward. People were trying to evacuate their own patients," he said.

"No one helped my mother. My elder brother grabbed a torch from the hospital staff, found our mother, and brought her out. No one went to help her. I could not save her and could not do anything," he told reporters.

Omprakash, whose brother Pintu was killed, said the fire spread rapidly.

"My brother was still inside. It took an hour and a half before they managed to pull Pintu out of the room. His body was not burned, but his face was completely blackened from the smoke. When we took him outside, there were no doctors present," he alleged.

The trauma centre building is in front of the main hospital building on busy Tonk Road.

Hospital staff and attendants evacuated patients with some wheeling beds outside the building. Firefighters brought the fire under control in around two hours, an official said.

Vikas, a ward boy who was at the scene, told PTI that he and other staff members rescued as many people as they could before the billowing flames and smoke made it impossible for them to do so.

"We were inside the operating theatre when we heard about the fire, so we immediately rushed to rescue the people inside the centre. We managed to save at least three to four patients. However, as the flames intensified, we could no longer go into the building. We did our best to rescue as many as we could," he said.

Police could not enter the building immediately due to the heavy smoke, he added.

By the time the fire brigade arrived, the entire ward was engulfed in smoke. Firefighters had to break a window to start extinguishing the fire, he said.

Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel, and Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham were among those who visited the trauma centre to take stock of the situation.

When Patel and Bedham reached the spot, relatives of some patients told them that the staff had ignored early warning and fled when the fire erupted.

They also claimed that the hospital staff could not provide updates on the patients' condition.

"We noticed smoke and immediately informed the staff, but they did not pay any heed. When the fire broke out, they were the first to run. Now, we cannot get any information about our patients. We want to know their condition, but no one is telling us," said an attendant.

The chief minister, who spoke to doctors and patients, termed the incident extremely unfortunate and assured the aggrieved of immediate relief.

As Deputy Chief Minister Prem Chand Bairwa and Bedham visited the trauma centre, family members and relatives staged a dharna outside.

Bedham spoke to the agitating members and assured them of all possible help.

"The CM visited the hospital last night and gave strict instructions to officials. We are monitoring the situation and are in constant touch with the CM," he told reporters.

Later, Health Minister Gajendra Singh also visited the hospital.

"Guilty will not be spared, and the strictest possible action will be taken against them. We have formed a committee which will submit its report within a week," he responded to a question, and promised just compensation to the victims' kin.

The state-appointed committee, headed by the commissioner of the Medical Education Department, Iqbal Khan, will look into the causes of the fire, the hospital's preparedness, and response to the emergency, safety measures, and steps to prevent such incidents in the future.

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said the fire was heartbreaking.

"It is extremely unfortunate that the families of the victims are angry with the way they have been treated by the state government. They said that no government representative has approached them or spoken to them so far," he said, and demanded the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the incident.

Vice President CP Radhakrishnan said he was "deeply saddened" at the deaths.

"Praying for strength to those who have lost their loved ones and for the speedy recovery of the injured," he said on X.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra offered her condolences to the bereaved and demanded a "swift investigation" into the fire and the hospital's conduct.

AICC general secretary and former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot also visited the hospital and expressed sorrow over the deaths.

"This disaster has undoubtedly been caused due to negligence in one of the state's most renowned hospitals," he said, calling for accountability and swift action.

Director General of Police Rajeev Sharma said he has instructed the Jaipur police commissioner to form a special team with experts from FSL and the fire department to thoroughly investigate the case. PTI SDA VN VN