Bihar hospital fire kills five

At least five people were killed in a fire that broke out in the ICU of a private hospital in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district early on Thursday. The blaze erupted around 3 am at Prasad Hospital and quickly spread through the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), filling it with dense smoke.

“A total of 5 deaths has been confirmed. There also are several injured persons undergoing treatment,” Muzaffarpur Municipal Commissioner Rituraj Singh said.

The bodies have been handed over to family members after post-mortem examination, officials said. All patients admitted have been accounted for, they said.

Earlier in the day, Muzaffarpur District Magistrate Subrat Kumar Sen had said around 13 to 15 patients were being treated in the ICU, who were later shifted to other hospitals. Prima facie, the fire appears to have resulted from a short circuit, he said, adding that the exact cause of the blaze can be ascertained after a detailed investigation.

Singh said the DM has constituted a five-member team to probe into the incident. Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary described the incident as “extremely tragic” and expressed condolences to the bereaved families. BJP national president Nitin Nabin, too, expressed grief over the loss of lives in the blaze.

Former chief minister Nitish Kumar said the incident was heart-wrenching and expressed condolences to the bereaved families.