After Nashik, another fire breaks out at COVID hospital in Maharashtra's Palghar, 13 die

Palghar, April 23: In a tragic incident amid the second wave of COVID-19, at least 13 patients have died on Friday morning after a fire broke out at an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a COVID hospital in the Virar area of Maharashtra's Palghar district.

 

The incident took place around 3:30 am on the second floor of the facility, the Corona Control Room, Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation informed. Three fire tenders of the Virar Fire Brigade reached the spot to douse the fire. It was extinguished by 5:20 am. Other COVID patients are being shifted to nearby hospitals.

 

 

Meanwhile, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray has ordered an inquiry into the major fire incident at Vijay Vallabh COVID care hospital in the Virar area of Palghar district which led to the death of 13 patients.

 

 

"Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray ordered an inquiry into the fire incident at Vijay Vallabh COVID care hospital in Virar. The cause of the fire should be properly investigated. He also directed the administration to immediately inquire whether the fire safety was adequate and whether it was a private hospital," Chief Minister's Official statement said.

 

 

"Thackeray has expressed sorrow over the death of some patients in a fire at the intensive care unit of Vijay Vallabh Hospital in Virar and directed that other patients undergoing treatment should not be harmed and should be relocated immediately," it said.

 

"After learning about the fire, the Chief Minister himself has spoken to the concerned officials and asked them to first of all give priority to extinguishing the fire completely and ensure that treatment on other patients continues," the statement added.

 

 

This tragic incident comes just days after 22 people were killed after an oxygen tank leaked in a hospital in Maharashtra's Nashik. The incident happened at the Zakir Hussai Hospital of the district. Providing details about the incident, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that many people are said to be in critical.

 

"So far 22 people have died in the oxygen leak accident, while many people are being told the condition is serious." He informed that the patients died due to a lack of oxygen in the hospitals. All these patients were on ventilators.