New Delhi: A huge fire broke out inside an operation theatre at the Trauma Center of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi on Sunday. All the patients and visitors were evacuated and shifted to another ward. No casualty has been reported in the incident, AIIMS authorities said.
A distress call was received around 6.13 pm from AIIMS and 24 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire. It took almost two hours to bring the fire under control.
However, a report said a child suffered burn injuries in the fire, but there is no official confirmation of the same. An ANI report said the fire started from the basement of the building where the operation theatre is located. Patients on the ground and first floor were also evacuated due to heavy smoke.
Chief Fire officer Atul Garg told PTI that the fire was brought under control by 8 pm and the cooling process is underway. Meanwhile, the AIIMS administration has instituted an inquiry into the matter to identify the cause of the fire, which is suspected to be due to a short circuit.
According to a source at the hospital, two patients in separate operation theatres (OTs) had undergone surgeries just half an before the fire broke out and were at the OT recovery rooms.
The AIIMS, in a statement, said at around 5:45 pm smoke was noticed in one of the stores adjacent to the OT on the ground floor. The staff and doctors present took quick action to douse the fire and alerted the hospital’s fire safety team and fire brigade. No patient or their attendants were in anyway harmed or injured in the incident.
According to PTI, police from southwest district were also called in to control the crowd which had gathered in the hospital vicinity. The traffic movement on the road in front of the AIIMS Trauma Centre was disrupted for a while.
This is the third incident of fire at the hospital. In August 2018, a minor fire had broken out at AIIMS. However, the situation was brought under control soon and no injuries were reported. In another incident in December 2016, a fire in the pathology lab of the hospital was reported. No casualties were reported then as well.
