A fire broke out due to an electrical short circuit at the maternity ward of Kamla Raja Hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, police said.
Following the fire, around 150 patients from the entire hospital, including those from the maternity ward, were transferred to the Super Specialty Hospital.
Two fire tenders were deployed to the site and successfully brought the fire under control.
"There were around 13 patients in the section of KRS hospital, along with 9-10 others, making it 22-23 patients in total. As soon as the fire broke out, patients were evacuated, but the smoke spread throughout the hospital. All patients have now been evacuated and shifted to the Super Specialty Hospital," Vinod Singh, a Sub-Divisional Magistrate, told.
He added that there were no casualties and that the patients were being examined for effects of smoke inhalation.
Atibal Singh Yadav, a fire officer with the Gwalior Municipal Corporation, said that two fire tenders were brought in and successfully controlled the blaze. "We received information about a fire in the maternity ward of the hospital and immediately alerted six stations. Two fire tenders arrived quickly and controlled the fire," Yadav told.
Eyewitnesses said that a patient's attendant broke a window glass to help evacuate patients with the assistance of hospital staff.
"It was around 1:30 to 2 AM. People were sleeping outside when we heard screaming from doctors and others about a fire. Our patient was in the ICU, and we were scared. When we looked through the window, we saw patients trapped inside. We broke the glass using an oxygen cylinder to let the smoke out and help evacuate them," an eyewitness told.
Dr Rita Mishra, Assistant Superintendent of the Super Specialty Hospital, described the chaotic situation, saying, "I got a call from a doctor about the fire. We rushed to the hospital and called the supervisors and cleaning staff as well. There was a lot of smoke everywhere, but Dr Archana guided efforts to ventilate the area."
