Fire breaks out in Noida hospital; no casualties

NEW DELHI: A fire broke out in Metro Hospitals and Heart Institute in Noida on Thursday, trapping several people inside the multi-storeyed building. However, no casualty was reported in the incident.

Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate B.N. Singh said more than 60 people were inside the hospital when the incident occurred. He said all were safe. “More than 40 patients have been shifted to Metro’s another hospital,” he added.

The DM said as many as 10 fire tenders were rushed to spot and the situation was brought under control.

There were no immediate reports of any casualties, officials said.

About 30-35 patients were rescued and shifted to local hospitals, said Vaibhav Krishna, senior superintendent of police, Gautam Buddha Nagar.

Staffers tried to help patients out of the building in Noida.

Thick smoke could be seen billowing out of the building in Sector 12. People stood on ledges and on balconies as rescuers tried to reach them by smashing glass windowpanes.

 “I came here from Moradabad to see my uncle who was admitted here. At around 12 pm when we came down after meeting him, we noticed that people were shouting from inside the hospital building. We noticed that a fire had broken out and heavy smoke was coming out,” Somesh Bharti, a relative of one of the patients, said.

Bharti, after his uncle was rescued, said he went on to help other patients trapped by the fire. By this time, the lane where the hospital is located, had been blocked and only ambulances were allowed to move in.

Patients were being transported to safer places in the ambulances, Mr Bharti said, adding police personnel helped them get out of the building.

Staffers tried to help the patients out of the building which was filled with thick smoke. “I heard cries of people shouting for help as there was a lot of smoke.

The hospital staffers broke the window panes to let the smoke pass,” Virender Jain, a local, said.

Around 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the situation was brought under control, Noida Fire Department officials said.

The hospital authorities, however, did not respond to repeated calls and text messages.

In December 2017, a similar incident took place at the Metro Hospital and Cancer Institute in East Delhi’s Preet Vihar area.