Bharuch, May 1

At least 16 Covid patients and two nurses were killed in a fire at a hospital at Bharuch in Gujarat in the early hours on Saturday. The state government said a judicial inquiry would be conducted into the incident that destroyed the ICU of Patel Welfare Hospital, run by a charitable trust.

As many as 50 patients were undergoing treatment at the facility on the ground floor when the fire broke out in the ICU around 1 am, probably because of short circuit, said a hospital official. “The victims were either charred to death or died due to suffocation,” said Rajendrasinh Chudasama, SP. There were chaotic scenes outside the hospital as the wailing kin blamed the hospital authorities for the tragedy. CM Vijay Rupani announced ex gratia aid of Rs 4 lakh to the next of the kin. — PTI