Jaipur, Oct 6 — Six critical patients died after a massive fire broke out late Sunday night in the trauma centre of the state-run Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Jaipur, prompting outrage among families who alleged that staff ignored early warnings of smoke before fleeing the ward.
According to officials, the fire erupted in the storage area of the Neuro Intensive Care Unit (ICU) around midnight, where 11 patients were being treated. Trauma centre in-charge Dr. Anurag Dhakad said a suspected short circuit was the likely cause of the blaze.
“Six of them, two women and four men, died in the incident,” Dr. Dhakad said. “Fourteen other patients were admitted in a different ICU and were successfully evacuated to safer locations,” he added.
The deceased were identified as Pintu from Sikar, Dilip and Bahadur from Jaipur, and Shrinath, Rukmini, and Khurma from Bharatpur, officials said.
Thick smoke quickly engulfed the trauma centre, throwing the hospital into chaos. Patients and attendants were seen rushing to escape as flames spread through the ICU. Several vital medical supplies, documents, and equipment were destroyed in the blaze.
Hospital staff, attendants, and ward boys helped move patients to safety, wheeling beds outside the building as firefighters struggled to enter the smoke-filled ward. “We were inside the operating theatre when we heard about the fire,” said Vikas, a ward boy. “We rushed to rescue people and managed to save three or four patients. But as the flames grew, we couldn’t go back inside. We did our best,” he told PTI.
He added that the police arrived later but were unable to enter immediately due to heavy smoke. Firefighters broke through windows to douse the flames and managed to bring the situation under control within two hours.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident, saying in a post on X, “The loss of lives due to a fire tragedy at a hospital in Jaipur, Rajasthan, is deeply saddening. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon.”
Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel, and Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham visited the trauma centre to assess the situation.
When Patel and Bedham arrived, distraught relatives confronted officials, alleging negligence by hospital staff. “We noticed smoke and immediately informed the staff, but they did not pay any heed,” said one attendant. “When the fire broke out, they were the first to run. Now, we cannot get any information about our patients.”
Chief Minister Sharma later met doctors and patients at the hospital and sought a detailed report on the cause of the fire and the rescue response.
Officials said the trauma centre remains closed pending inspection by forensic and electrical safety teams, while an inquiry has been ordered to determine accountability in the deadly incident.
