Palanpur: At a time when fire in hospitals across Gujarat has come under scrutiny, a blast triggered by a short circuit spread panic among patients, their relatives and staffers at a private hospital in Modasa town of Aravalli district on Sunday afternoon.
The blast at Krishna Healthcare Super Specialty Hospital, located on Modasa’s Meghraj road, was so strong that panic-stricken patients and even hospital staffers rushed out of the hospital building and gathered on the street mistaking it as some kind of terror attack.
Sources said that the blast occurred following a short-circuit in a storage room in the basement of the hospital building.
Fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot to douse the fire before it could spread and result in any severe damage. Although all the patients, their relatives and staffers escaped unhurt, smoke billowed out from the burning building.
“Primarily, the blast has occurred in an electric meter situated in the basement. As patients and staffers noticed some fire and smoke emitted from the basement, they panicked and emptied the building,” said C P Vaghela, police inspector of Modasa town police station told TOI.
A team from the Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Limited (UGVCL) also reached the spot. Currently, power supply of the hospital building has been disconnected. Sources said that UGVCL will re-start the power supply only after it gets necessary clearance from the fire department.