Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh): Over 120 patients including 16 from Intensive Care Unit were rescued and shifted to another hospital after a blast occurred in an air conditioner at the gynecology department of Kamla Raja Hospital in Gwalior at 1 am on Sunday.

Fire erupted following the blast at the 65-year-old hospital, which is attached to Gajra Raja Medical College, Gwalior. The hospital guards of the hospital immediately evacuated the patients admitted in the ICU by breaking the windows and shifted them to a super speciality hospital.

Dr RKS Dhakad, dean of Gajra Raja Medical College, Gwalior, said, “120 patients have been rescued. They include 56 women. Of them, 16 were in ICU. Due to smoke, other patients were also shifted to other wards.”

Gwalior district collector Ruchika Chouhan said a committee headed by SDM had been formed for investigation. “Actually, building is very old and so is the electric wiring. This causes frequent fire in Kamla Raja Hospital. Last time when the fire broke out, I had sent the fire audit report to Bhopal. It is still pending there,” she added. A release from the state Public Relations Department said a short-circuit was likely to have caused the fire in the gynaecology department of the Kamla Raja Hospital.

The hospital guards and ward boys immediately shifted the patients. The fire tenders of Gwalior Municipal Corporation later controlled the blaze, it said. An attendant of a patient said, "The hospital premises was filled with smoke after the fire broke out. The staff there immediately started shifting all the patients. Nothing was visible at that time. At present, our patient is fine and has been kept at a new place.”

History of fire in MP hospitals

* November 2021: In Kamla Nehru Hospital. Led to three neonatal deaths. * August 2022: Fire at New Life multi speciality hospital, Jabalpur caused eight deaths.

* September 2023: SNCU in Kamla Raja Hospital; 68 kids were shifted.