Relatives of the victims have accused hospital staff of fleeing the scene immediately after a fire erupted on the second floor of Jaipur’s state-run Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital, reportedly due to a short circuit. The blaze broke out late Sunday night in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the trauma center, resulting in the deaths of at least seven patients. Eyewitnesses reported that the area quickly filled with thick smoke, creating panic among patients and their families. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences over the fire tragedy and wished for a swift recovery for the injured. Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma has initiated a high-level investigation into the incident.
The inquiry, led by Iqbal Khan, Commissioner of the Medical Education Department, will examine the cause of the fire, hospital management, firefighting systems, and evacuation procedures implemented to safeguard patients. The committee will recommend measures to prevent such negligence among hospital staff. On Monday, the Chief Minister canceled his trip to Delhi in light of the tragedy at the SMS Hospital trauma center. At the time of the fire, around 210 patients were on the second floor, with approximately 40 individuals in each of the four ICUs. Reports indicate that during the night shift, there was only one staff member per ICU, and families of the victims allege that these individuals also abandoned their posts when the fire broke out.
Some attendants and patients were able to rescue individuals by moving them to safer areas, even wheeling beds outside the hospital. Firefighters managed to extinguish the flames within two hours. Dr. Anurag Dhakad, In-Charge of the Trauma Centre, stated that the second floor housed two ICUs: one trauma ICU with 11 patients and a semi-ICU with 13 patients. He confirmed that a short circuit in the trauma ICU ignited the fire, which spread rapidly accompanied by toxic gases, affecting primarily critically ill patients who were in comas.
