Almost 250 patients have been moved to safety from Kolkata Medical College and Hospital, in the heart of Kolkata, after a fire broke out in one of its buildings.
The medical college, situated on the city’s College Street, consists of a complex of multiple buildings. The fire began between 7:30 and 8am in the building that houses the pharmacy. The fire department was alerted after black smoke was spotted billowing out of the building.
No casualties have been reported yet, reports the Indian news outlet NDTV.
The fire department has deployed 10 fire engines to bring the inferno under control.
According to Indian news agency ANI, a fire brigade official, at the scene, said the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
West Bengal’s disaster management authority officials are also at the site, alongside firefighters and the police.
When news of the fire spread, there was widespread chaos and panic. Many patients were carried out of the building in stretchers and even bed sheets with saline drips still attached. Some were even seen lying on the floor, while others were moved out in ambulances.
In December 2011, 92 people were killed when a fire broke out, shortly before dawn, at the AMRI hospital in Kolkata. During the blaze in south Kolkata's Dhakuria, most of the victims were critically-ill patients, asphyxiated by the smoke in their sleep.
