6 patients killed in Jaipur hospital fire, families say staff ignored warnings
Jaipur: Six patients, including two women, died after a massive fire broke out late Sunday night at the trauma centre of Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Trauma centre in-charge Dr. Anurag Dhakad said the fire erupted in the storage area of the Neuro ICU, where 11 patients were undergoing treatment. “Six of them — two women and four men — died in the incident,” he confirmed. The victims were identified as Pintu (from Sikar), Dilip (from Andhi, Jaipur), Shrinath, Rukmini, Khurma (all from Bharatpur), and Bahadur (from Sanganer, Jaipur).
Dhakad added that 14 other patients admitted to a separate ICU were safely evacuated to other locations.
The fire triggered chaos and panic as thick smoke spread throughout the building. Various medical documents, ICU equipment, and blood samples were destroyed in the blaze.
Eyewitnesses said hospital staff and attendants scrambled to move patients out, some even carrying them on beds. “We rushed to rescue people when we heard about the fire,” said Vikas, a ward boy. “We managed to save a few patients, but when the flames grew, it became impossible to go back inside.”
Firefighters reached the spot soon after being alerted and took nearly two hours to bring the fire under control. They had to break windows to vent the smoke and douse the flames from multiple sides.
However, several families accused hospital staff of negligence and cowardice, claiming that early warnings about smoke were ignored. “We noticed smoke and informed the staff, but they didn’t pay any attention. When the fire started, they were the first to run,” one relative alleged.
Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel, and Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham visited the hospital to review the situation. When Patel and Bedham arrived, angry relatives confronted them, demanding answers about their missing loved ones.
