Palghar: As many as 13 COVID-19 patients have suffocated to death following fire at a hospital in Virar, in Vasai Virar municipal limits, Palghar district late on Friday morning. Several others were injured in the massive fire.
The blaze was first spotted around 3.15 am on the second floor of the ICU Ward in the four-storied Vijay Vallabh Hospital in Tirupati Nagar. The fire quickly spread to other wards, according to Virar Fire Brigade.
Several patients infected with the COVID-19 virus were undergoing treatment in the medical facility and the staffers were successful in shifting around 5-6 of them to nearby hospitals.
Three fire tenders were rushed that managed to bring the blaze under control after almost two hours.
The cause of the fire is not known and further probe is underway, an official said.
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