Delhi: Major fire at cancer hospital, many hurt

New Delhi: A major fire broke out at a hospital in East Delhi’s Preet Vihar on Saturday. Ninety-two patients were evacuated from the building, officials said.

Some patients suffered minor injuries in the fire, which broke out on the second floor of the Metro Hospital and Cancer Institute.

“The fire broke out on the second floor of the hospital. When I arrived at the scene, I saw smoke coming out from that floor,” said a hospital official.

“We immediately evacuated all patients and staff. Of the 92 patients admitted at the hospital, 43 were sent to Metro Hospital in Noida while others were moved to Max Patparganj and some government hospitals nearby,” the official said. He said that everyone was evacuated from the five-storeyed building and no casualty or major injury was reported. At the time of the incident, 240 staffers were present in the hospital. The fire started in an air conditioning vent and then spread to other floors, a senior police officer said.

Local police immediately rushed to the spot and started evacuating the patients. 84 patients were evacuated and shifted to the Noida branch of Metro Hospital at Sector 11. DCP (East) Ombir Singh Vishnoi and DC (East) Kulanand Joshi personally supervised the rescue operations on the spot. A senior officer from the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said a call was received at 3.20 pm alerting them about the blaze, which intensified in the next 20 minutes. Twelve fire tenders were rushed to the spot, he said.

“But it was controlled by 4.15 pm and completely doused by 4.50 pm,” the official said.