ICU fire at India’s Jaipur hospital kills six, injures five

(Reuters): A hospital blaze caused by a suspected short-circuit killed at least six patients in a trauma centre at the largest state-run hospital in India's northwestern city of Jaipur, and injured five, officials said on Monday.

The fire began in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Sawai Man Singh Hospital, "releasing toxic gases", hospital official Anurag Dhakad told the ANI news agency, adding that a short-circuit was the suspected cause.

"Five patients are still critical," he said, while 13 had been safely evacuated from the two wards of the hospital in the capital of Rajasthan, which draws patients from across the desert state.

Fire brigade teams arrived within 20 minutes after the fire began late on Sunday in the neurosurgery ICU, hospital superintendent Sushil Kumar Bhati told the agency.

Most of the hospital equipment was gutted in the roughly two hours it took to bring the fire under control, however, broadcaster NDTV said.

Jaipur Police chief Biju George Joseph said a forensic investigation would determine the exact cause.

The government of Rajasthan, whose capital is Jaipur, has set up a panel to investigate the cause, ANI said.

It will study the hospital's firefighting arrangements and the management's response, as well as steps to avoid similar incidents, the agency added.

Similar hospital fires in India have been blamed on short circuits in electronic equipment.

Ten newborns died from burns and suffocation after a fire in November at a neonatal intensive care unit in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

In May 2024, six newborns died in a fire at a baby care hospital in New Delhi, the capital.