FIRE, AS USUAL; 4 DIE
Alert locals to the rescue
Four patients died of suffocation after fire broke out at a private hospital, a nonCovid facility housed in a seven-storey building in Mumbra early on Wednesday. This is the fourth such incident this year. The four were among the 20 patients who were rescued but died after being shifted to other hospitals in Mumbra. A short-circuit in the meter box of the hospital is suspected to have sparked the fire, according to preliminary inquiry.
According to official sources, the hospital, located in a residential building, was not fire-compliant. Because of the short circuit, there was a power cut in the four wings of Hasnain Tower until Wednesday evening.
The deceased have been identified as Yasmeen Zafar Sayyed, 46, Nawab Majid Shaikh, 47, Halima Salmani, 70, and Harish Sonawane, 57.
A week ago, 15 Covid patients died in a fire in a hospital in the Virar area, around 50 km from Mumbai. On April 21, 24 Covid patients lost their lives at the Dr. Zakir Hussain Hospital run by the
Nashik Municipal Corporation after an oxygen tanker leaked. In March, fire broke out at a Covid hospital in Mumbai’s suburban Bhandup, which claimed nine lives. In January, 10 infants died after a fire broke out at a special newborn care unit of the Bhandara district hospital in the Bhandara district of Vidarbha.
According to the regional disaster management cell (RDMC), the fire broke out at 3.40am at Prime Criticare Hospital on the first floor of Hasnain Tower, Shimla Park on the old Mumbai-Pune Road in Kausa, Mumbra.
The fire brigade, RDMC and Mumbra Police, along with locals, carried out the rescue operations. Five ambulances, Torrent officials, three fire engines, two water tankers and one rescue vehicle were rushed to the spot.
Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad, MLA from the Mumbra-Kalwa constituency, also visited the spot and confirmed news of the four patients’ death in the incident. He said the reason behind the fire is yet to be ascertained. “A committee will be formed to investigate the reason behind the fire. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister has announced Rs 5 lakh compensation for the kin of the deceased,” said Awhad.