At least seven patients were killed after a fire broke out in the Intensive Care Unit of the trauma centre at Jaipur’s state-run Sawai Man Singh Hospital. Families have alleged that the staff fled soon after the blaze, suspected to have been caused by a short circuit, erupted on the second floor of the building.The blaze erupted on Sunday night, with smoke rapidly spreading throughout the floor and causing panic among patients and their families. Various documents, ICU equipment, blood sample tubes, and other items stored in the area were gutted by the fire.At the time of the accident, there were 210 patients. There were 40 patients in each of the four ICUs. At night, only one staff member was in each ICU, who allegedly fled shortly after the fire broke out.Hospital staff and patient attendants evacuated patients, even transporting them to their beds outside the building. Firefighters brought the fire under control in approximately two hours.#WATCH | Jaipur, Rajasthan | A massive fire broke out in an ICU ward of Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital, claiming the lives of six patients pic.twitter.com/CBM6vcTMfZ— ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2025According to Trauma Centre In-Charge Anurag Dhakad, there were two ICUs on the second floor — a trauma ICU with 11 patients and a semi-ICU with 13."A short circuit occurred in the trauma ICU, and the fire spread rapidly, releasing toxic gases. Most of the patients in the trauma ICU were comatose and critically ill," he said."Six of the patients were extremely critical. Despite our best efforts and prolonged CPR, we couldn’t save them. Of the deceased, two were women and four were men. Five other patients remain in critical condition," the doctor added.#WATCH | Jaipur, Rajasthan | SMS Hospital Trauma centre Incharge Anurag Dhakad says, "Our trauma centre has two ICUs on the second floor: a trauma ICU and a semi-ICU. We had 24 patients there; 11 in the trauma ICU and 13 in the semi-ICU. A short circuit occurred in the trauma pic.twitter.com/cjMwutRCl3— ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2025When Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel and Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham visited the trauma centre following the incident, the families of two victims alleged that the hospital staff had fled during the fire.They also complained that they were not being informed about the condition of their loved ones.“We noticed smoke and immediately alerted the staff, but they didn’t pay attention. When the fire broke out, they were the first to run. Now, no one is telling us anything about our patients’ condition,” PTI news agency quoted a family member as saying.#WATCH | Jaipur | Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma arrived at the Sawai Man Singh Hospital (SMS) to review the situation after a massive fire broke out pic.twitter.com/vhqY5S7p7m— ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2025Speaking to ANI news agency, another victim's relative said, "The ICU caught fire, but there was no equipment to extinguish it, no fire extinguishers, no cylinders, not even water to douse the flames. There were no facilities at all. My mother didn’t survive.”#WATCH | SMS Hospital fire, Jaipur | "… The ICU caught fire. There was no equipment to extinguish it. There were no cylinders or even water to douse the fire. There were no facilities. My mother passed away…," says a person who lost a family member in the fire at Jaipur's pic.twitter.com/BCV2Sa9jMT— ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2025Another person whose relative was trapped said that at around 11.20 pm on Sunday, when people first started noticing the smoke, the doctors were informed regarding the well-being of patients."But the smoke kept getting thicker. As it spread, the doctors and other staff working downstairs all ran out. Soon, the smoke became so dense that we couldn’t reach the patients. Even then, we managed to pull out four or five of them. My aunt’s son was among those inside. He was doing well and was supposed to be discharged in a day or two," he added.Commenting on the incident, Jaipur Police Commissioner Biju George Joseph said that forensic teams will determine the exact cause of the fire."At first glance, it appears to have been triggered by a short circuit. The remaining patients have been shifted to another ward and are undergoing treatment," he told reporters.On Monday morning, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot offered his condolences and urged the state government to "conduct a high-level investigation into this incident to ensure that such accidents do not recur anywhere in the future".
7 patients dead in Jaipur hospital fire, families allege staff fled after blaze
