14 Covid patients killed in Virar hospital fire, CM orders probe

At least 14 patients of Covid-19 died after a massive fire broke out in the early morning hours on Friday at the Vijay Vallabh Hospital in Virar in Mumbai. The fire broke out in the ICU of the private hospital that has been functioning as a Covid hospital. 

The fire is suspected to have started around 3.15 am due to a short circuiting of the air conditioner in the intensive care unit. According to the fire department, there were 17 coronavirus patients in the ICU. The three who survived have been moved elsewhere. 

“Around 90 patients were admitted to the hospital at the time of the incident,” Dilip Shah, CEO, Vijay Vallabh Hospital, told reporters this morning.

As soon as the fire department got a call, three fire tenders and two water tankers were rushed to the spot and the fire was brought under control by 5.30 am. Relatives of the deceased reached the hospital soon after and demanded that stringent action be taken against those responsible for the tragedy. 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has ordered a probe into the fire, the CM’s office said. Thackeray also announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for the family members of the patients who died and Rs 1 lakh each to the critically injured patients.

In a statement, the Maharashtra CM’s office said that Thackeray “has expressed sorrow” over the deaths. “He has directed that other patients undergoing treatment should not be harmed and should be relocated immediately. 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 of other patients continues,” the official statement read.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also offered condolences after the incident. “The fire at a Covid-19 hospital in Virar is tragic. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon,” he said. 

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also offered condolences and prayed for the fast recovery of patients. The PM has also approved an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the kin of those who lost their lives in the fire. 

This incident comes just days after 24 Covid patients on life support died after a leak in a medical oxygen tank disrupted the supply of the gas at Dr. Zakir Hussain Hospital in Nashik.

Previously, in March, a fire also broke out in Mumbai’s Dreams Mall, which housed a Covid-designated hospital on its third floor. The fire, which raged for over 40 hours, claimed nine lives, including patients on ventilator support. 

Ten infants had also been killed in a fire that had broken out at a special newborn care unit at the Bhandara district hospital in Maharashtra on January 9. Seventeen infants, aged one to three months, were admitted to the ward at the time of the tragedy. 

In light of the chain of tragic events, former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis tweeted, “Bhandara, Nagpur, Mumbai, Nashik & now today Virar, all incidents are extremely tragic and serious. Such incidents make our fight against #COVID19 tougher. At least now, a time bound fire safety audit program must be decided upon to avoid such occurrences in future.”