Ventilator Catches Fire In Assam Hospital, No Casualty

A ventilator received under the PM-CARES fund caught fire in the paediatric ward of Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) in Dibrugarh district on Wednesday night, an official said.

However, no casualty was reported in the incident.

AMCH Superintendent Prasanta Dihingia told PTI that the monitor of a ventilator in the paediatric ward caught fire which was immediately doused by the staff with the help of a fire extinguisher kept in the room.

"There were 12 children in the ward, aged between six months and 10 years. No one was injured," he added.

As a precautionary measure, the hospital shifted all the patients to another paediatric ward in the campus after the incident, Mr Dihingia said.

"The affected ward had six ventilators and two of them were received under the PM-CARES fund. One of the PM-CARES ventilators had caught fire," the superintendent said.

About the cause of the blaze, he said it is not immediately known if the ventilator had any issue or there was a problem with the electricity connection in the ward.

"Personnel from the fire and power departments have reached and are conducting a probe into the incident. The AMCH has already initiated an internal enquiry. We have also requested the Assam government to do an investigation independently. These will bring out the truth," Mr Dihingia said.