Covid-19 patients dies after a fire broke out in hospital at Burdwan in West Bengal

|HT|

A 60-year-old woman, who was undergoing treatment for Covid-19 in a state-run hospital at Burdwan in West Bengal, was killed on Saturday morning after a fire broke out in the hospital’s Covid-19 ward, said hospital authorities. The victim was identified as Sandhya Rani Mondol, a resident of the same district. The hospital authorities have formed a five-member committee to probe into the incident.

A senior doctor said that the fire may have been triggered by a mosquito coil as only one bed was gutted. Three other patients who were undergoing treatment for Covid-19 in the general ward were rescued. They didn’t suffer any injuries.

“It was around 5 am that the fire broke out in the ward. There were four patients in the general ward. Even though we managed to rescue three patients, one succumbed. Only one bed was affected in the fire,” said Dr Tapas Ghosh, medical superintendent and vice principal of Burdwan Medical College and Hospital. A relative of a Covid-19 patient first spotted the flames and raised an alarm. While the hospital staff rescued the three patients and started to fight the flames, the fire brigade was also informed. The fire was pit out even before the fire brigade could reach the spot.

On Friday, 3,805 fresh Covid-19 cases were detected in West Bengal, taking the total number of active cases to 45,729. At least 34 patients died on Thursday.

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