Mumbai: Fire and smoke injures patients, their visitors too at ESIC Kamgar Hospital

An auto driver Anil Saagle, son of Kaushala Saagle (70), was seen waiting outside Holy Spirit Hospital to visit his mother.

70-year-old Kaushala Saagle's visit to see an ailing family member Deepak Jadhav brought along woes that she had never envisioned while stepping out of her house. She was accompanied by Asha Walekar, her daughter and Sadik Ansari, another family member.

Within 10 minutes of their visit to the hospital, the family saw smoke billowing and witnessed a situation of panic in the surroundings. The fire brigade came to their help after half an hour and the fire officer rescued them through a window.

Kaushala Saagle, who was rescued from the fourth-floor window, jumped off a certain height due to which she ended up injuring her spine. She is in a critical condition and has been kept in the Intensive Care Unit.

After a huge fire broke out at the ESIC Kamgar Hospital in Andheri, around 147 injured patients were shifted to other nearby hospitals. Six patients died and the number includes a five-month-old baby. 

Around four people were admitted to the critical ward of Dr RN Cooper Hospital. Five babies were shifted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) ward of Holy Spirit Hospital in Andheri.

According to the doctors, most of the injured patients suffered due to the smoke. Speaking about the medical condition of the patients admitted, Dr Rajesh Sukhdeve, medical superintendent of Cooper Hospital, said, "One of the patients have a broken spinal cord as he jumped off the building to save his life. One fireman is in critical condition. Other patients have been admitted to the general ward."

Four members from the same family suffered injuries due to the incident. While two of the family members Nirukti Kamble (60), and Poonam Kamble, the father and daughter duo were admitted to the ESIC Hospital because of stomach pain, Ramabai Kamble and Nutan Kamble, the mother and the younger daughter had visited the hospital to meet their family.

Shobha Kamble, sister of Nirukti Kamble, 60, who was later admitted to Holy Spirit Hospital, said, "The other three members of the family - mother and two daughters are admitted in Cooper Hospital after the fire incident. All three suffered from suffocation due to smoke. They were on the second floor of the hospital. Luckily none of them suffered any major injury."

While two patients were declared brought dead in the Cooper Hospital, their identity is yet to be affirmed. Dr Rajesh added, "The bodies can be identified from their faces as there is no major injury on their body. Both of them died due to suffocation."

Around 35 patients were shifted to the Holy Spirit Hospital. The hospital authorities said, "While five babies have been shifted to NICU, one baby was brought dead. Around six patients have been kept under observation in the ICU."