At least 11 coronavirus patients were killed after a major fire broke out in the ICU of the district civil hospital in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar city on Saturday, officials said.
The blaze erupted around 11 am in the intensive care unit (ICU), where 20 COVID-19 patients were undergoing treatment, they said.
Rajendra Bhosale, district collector of Ahmednagar, located around 120 km from Pune, confirmed that 11 patients died in the blaze.
Shankar Misal, chief fire officer of the Ahmednagar Municipal Corporation, said that after the fire broke out, police and fire brigade personnel rushed to the facility and began the rescue and fire fighting operation.
The fire was doused around 1.30 pm and the cooling operation is on, Misal said, adding that short circuit is suspected to be the cause behind it.
A police official said that after the fire, the injured patients were rushed to a nearby hospital, where 10 of them were declared brought dead.
Bhosale said, "The bodies of all victims were then sent for post-mortem and the reason behind their death -- whether it was caused due to suffocation or due to disruption in medical oxygen supply -- is being investigated."
Expressing grief over the incident, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, 'My condolences to the kin of those who lost their lives. I appeal to congress workers to assist in the relief work.'
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis described the incident as 'very shocking and disturbing'.
'My deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in Nagar Civil Hospital ICU Fire incident. Praying for speedy recovery of the injured,' he said in a tweet.
He demanded an 'in-depth inquiry' into the incident and called for a strict action against those responsible for it.
In April this year, 15 COVID-19 patients had died in a blaze at the ICU of a private hospital in Palghar district of Maharashtra.
Another fire in March at Dreams Mall in Mumbai's Bhandup, which housed a Covid-designated hospital, had claimed the lives of nine such patients.
