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Tragedy in India as hospital fire kills 10 patients
At least 10 critically ill patients have died after a fire broke out at a government-owned hospital in eastern India, officials confirmed on Monday.
Authorities said the victims were patients receiving treatment in the trauma care unit when the incident happened.
According to reports, the fire started early Monday on the first floor of SCB Medical College and Hospital located in Cuttack, a major city in Odisha.
Speaking to journalists, the state governor, Mohan Charan Majhi, confirmed the incident and said emergency responders were quickly deployed to the scene.
Hospital fires are not unusual in India, where experts often blame such incidents on poor safety standards, lack of firefighting equipment and the failure to follow basic safety regulations in many public buildings.
“A short circuit caused the fire in the trauma ICU ward where patients were being treated,” he said, adding that 23 patients were present on the floor at the time of the incident.
Ten people died following the blaze, while the remaining patients were moved to other wards, he added.
At least 11 staff members suffered burn injuries as they tried to rescue the patients.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the incident “deeply painful” in a post on social media and offered his condolences to the families of the victims.
He also announced compensation of $2,160 to affected families.
Electrical short circuits, often caused by poorly maintained wiring, remain the leading cause of fire incidents in India.
In 2024, a fire at a private hospital in the southern state of Tamil Nadu killed at least six people and injured more than two dozen.
The same year, 10 newborns were killed when a fire engulfed a hospital in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
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