Pune Hospital Fire: There are no details available yet on the damage or casualties.
A fire broke out at an ICU ward of a hospital in Maharashtra's Pune this afternoon. Three fine engines were rushed to the spot, news agency ANI reported.
It's not yet clear if any of the patients or the medical staff at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Hospital in the Pune cantonment area were injured in the fire. The hospital is about 150 km from state capital Mumbai.
Last month, eight coronavirus patients died in a huge fire that broke out in the intensive care ward of a private hospital in Gujarat's Ahmedabad.
"A staffer whose PPE caught fire ran out of the ward to douse it but the fire spread rapidly to the whole ward," Rajesh Bhatt, additional chief fire officer of the Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services, was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters. About 45 patients were admitted to the 50-bed hospital at the time of accident.
The incident comes at a time when Maharashtra, the worst-hit state by Covid outbreak, is fighting the rising number of cases. The state recorded its biggest single-day jump in cases with over 19,000 fresh infections. Across India, the number of cases have passed the 40-lakh mark.
(More details awaited)