DEHRADUN: A 66-year-old woman died while 16 others, including three police personnel, sustained injuries after an air-conditioning unit in the ICU of a private hospital in Dehradun allegedly short-circuited on Wednesday morning, raising concerns over fire safety standards in hospitals in Dehradun. Officials said 10 of the injured remain in critical condition.The victim, Virvati, a resident of Balliwala, was on ventilator support when the incident occurred. According to family members, she was diabetic and had been admitted to Panacea Hospital in Dehradun’s Nehru Colony area near Rispana Bridge on Haridwar bypass road on Monday.“By the time I reached, she had passed away. We have been told that even though she was evacuated, she had inhaled a lot of smoke and died due to asphyxiation,” said the victim’s son.CMO Dr Manoj Sharma said the body has been sent for postmortem, after which the exact cause of death will be determined. “There were 14 patients admitted to the hospital at the time of the incident, including six in the ICU. One patient was referred to Coronation District Hospital while the others were shifted to a private hospital. Currently, 10 people, including two police personnel, remain critical,” the CMO added.According to eyewitnesses, the incident occurred around 9.20am, possibly due to the presence of high-intensity oxygen lines. “Thick smoke engulfed within minutes. We shut down major appliances and switches, but the fire spread quickly,” said a hospital staff member.Hospital owner Ranveer Chauhan said, “The fire was massive and depleted the entire 6,000-litre firefighting water tanker at the premises. The fire department has completed its inspections.”“An audit is underway. Prima facie, a short circuit is suspected. The exact cause will be known after a probe,” IG Rajeev Swarup said. The district administration has directed the concerned departments to assess the damage and conduct an inquiry.(With inputs from Gaurav Talwar)
