This photo shows inside the Welfare Hospital after a deadly fire in Bharuch, western India, Saturday, May 1, 2021. The fire in a COVID-19 ward of the hospital killed multiple patients early Saturday, as the country grappling with the worst outbreak yet steps up a vaccination drive for all its adults even though some states say don't have enough jabs. (PHOTO / KK PRODUCTIONS VIA AP)
At least 18 people, including two healthcare workers were killed in a fire at a COVID-19 hospital in the western Indian state of Gujarat late on Friday night, officials said on Saturday, in the country's latest deadly hospital accident.
The fire started around midnight in the intensive care ward of the Patel Welfare Hospital, a designated COVID-19 facility, in Bharuch city, 185 km north of state's main commercial city, Ahmedabad.
Preliminary investigation shows the fire was caused because of a short circuit.
R.V. Chudasama, superintendent of police in Bharuch city
"16 patients and two staff members have died in the fire. 12 of them died due to fire and smoke," said R.V. Chudasama, a superintendent of police in Bharuch.
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"Preliminary investigation shows the fire was caused because of a short circuit," he said.
Local news channels showed footage of a hospital ward completely destroyed in the fire.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet he was "pained by the loss of lives due to a fire at a hospital in Bharuch."
India's healthcare system is struggling to cope with the coronavirus crisis, which has killed 211,853 people and infected more than 19 million, according to health ministry data on Saturday.
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A dozen people were reported killed after a fire in a hospital treating COVID-19 patients in a suburb of Mumbai on April 23. Earlier 22 patients died at a public hospital in Maharashtra where Mumbai is located when oxygen supplies ran out due to a leaking tank.