Flames ravage Jaipur hospital, seven critical patients perish amid chaos

Seven critically ill patients lost their lives late on Sunday night, 5 October, when a fire broke out in the trauma centre of Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital, a state-run facility in Jaipur.

The blaze, suspected to have been caused by a short circuit, erupted in the storage area of the Neuro ICU, where 11 patients were being treated, officials said.

The deceased have been identified as Pintu (Sikar), Dilip (Andhi, Jaipur), Shrinath, Rukmini, Khurma (all from Bharatpur), and Bahadur (Sanganer, Jaipur), with two women and four men among the victims.

Dr. Anurag Dhakad, in-charge of the trauma centre, stated that 14 other patients, admitted in a separate ICU, were safely evacuated to secure locations. The fire caused panic among patients, attendants, and staff, with smoke spreading rapidly across the floor, forcing urgent action.

Hospital personnel and attendants reportedly evacuated patients on their beds, while firefighters arrived shortly after being alerted and managed to bring the blaze under control in approximately two hours.

Vikas, a ward boy at the scene, told PTI that he and other staff members tried to rescue as many patients as possible.

“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.

He added that the police arrived later but were unable to enter immediately due to heavy smoke. Firefighters had to break a window on the opposite side of the building to extinguish the fire effectively.

The fire destroyed various documents, ICU equipment, blood sample tubes, and other stored items, compounding the tragedy for the hospital.

Chief minister Bhajanlal Sharma, along with parliamentary affairs minister Jogaram Patel and minister of state for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham, visited the trauma centre to assess the situation.

Upon their arrival, angry patient attendants accused hospital staff of fleeing during the fire and failing to provide timely updates on the patients’ conditions.

“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,” one attendee said.

The chief minister later met with doctors and patients, promising a thorough review of the incident and support for affected families.

With PTI inputs