Less than 48 hours after a shocking oxygen leakage-triggered mishap claimed the lives of 24 coronavirus patients at a Nashik civic hospital, as many as 14 Covid-19 patients died in the early hours of Friday when a fire swept through an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a pandemic hospital at Virar in Maharashtra’s Palghar district.
The fire broke out at 3.15 am at the ICU of Vijay Vallabh Hospital and Medical Research Centre, a designated Covid-19 facility, at Tirupati Nagar at Virar, a bustling township located 65 km away from south Mumbai.
There were conflicting versions as to the cause of the fire. While one version said the fire was caused by a blast inside in an air-conditioner, another version said an electrical short-circuit might have sparked the fire. The local fire brigade personnel, who rushed to the scene shortly afterwards, succeeded in preventing the spread of fire to other wards at the hospital. They extinguished the blaze around 5.30 am.
At the time of mishap, there were 17 Covid-19 patients, 13 died on the spot, one patient identified as Shivaji Veerkar, who had sustained 80 per cent burns, succumbed to the wounds.
Another 25 Covid-19 patients, who were undergoing treatment in the general wards of the hospital, were taken to other hospitals at Virar.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who spoke to the local hospital and Palghar district officials and took stock of the situation, ordered an enquiry into the incident. He announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family of each person killed in the mishap and Rs 1 lakh to those injured in the mishap.
Mourning those killed in the Virar hospital fire, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “The fire at a Covid-19 hospital in Virar is tragic. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon.”
“PM @narendramodi has approved an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from PMNRF for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the hospital fire in Virar, Maharashtra. Rs 50,000 would be given to those seriously injured,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted.
Expressing his sadness over the incident, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari said, “I was extremely saddened to learn about the news of the death of a few corona virus patients in the fire at the ICU of a private Hospital in Virar earlier today. I convey my deepest condolences to the families of the unfortunate victims and wish speedy recovery to the injured patients.”
Earlier in the day, there was considerable tension at the Vijay Vallabh Hospital where agitated relatives of those killed in the mishap gheraoed ministers, officials and hospital staff and demanded answers from them for the death of their nears and dear ones.
Some of them claimed that the air-conditioner at the hospital was faulty and the hospital administration was aware of it. They also claimed that the hospital staff members were sleeping when the fire broke out and patients could not be evacuated in time.
“There was some problem with the air conditioner yesterday…I also saw some repair work being done... Since the issue remained unresolved a few fans were installed on a temporary basis,” a hospital employee Supriya Deshmukh said.
Several relatives complained to Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde who rushed to the hospital, along with Palghar district guardian minister Dada Bhuse, who is Guardian Minister of Palghar, about the hospital administration and their attitude towards the patients.
“The State Government has ordered a probe and the guilty will not be spared,” Shinde said, seeking to pacify the agitated mob.
The bereaved families also sought an explanation from Palghar Collector Dr Manik Gursal and Vasai-Virar Municipal Commissioner Gangatharan Devrajan, who were present on the scene, for the loss of so many lives.
“My sister Shama Mhatre was admitted in the hospital. The fire took place in the wee hours and I was informed at 7.30 am in the morning about her death,” her brother Dr Ravi Tandel said, as he broke down while talking to media persons.
Dr Dilip Shah, the CEO of the hospital, was gheraoed by the agitated mob which sought answers. “The hospital is responsible for the death of innocent people,” an agitated relative told Dr Shah.
Friday’s was the second Covid-10 patients’ related tragedy within a span of 48 hours and fourth major fire mishap in Maharashtra. Earlier, as many as 24 Covid-19 patients who were on ventilators and on oxygen support died at a civic hospital at Nashik in north Maharashtra on Wednesday afternoon, following the sudden interruption in liquid oxygen supplies caused by a leakage in the pipe carrying the life saving gas from a tank installed at the hospital.
The 22 patients who died were among patients who were on oxygen support. The incident took place at the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC)-run Dr Zakir Hussain Municipal Hospital, after a pipeline carrying liquid Oxygen from a 13 Kilo Litre capacity tank installed at the hospital, developed a leak around noon.
On March 26, a massive fire at the Sunrise Hospital in Dreams Mall in Bhandup had left 11 persons dead.
Ten infants - aged between one and three months - were killed in the wee hours of January 9 when a massive fire broke out in a government hospital at Bhandara in eastern Maharashtra.