Fire at Kolkatas Apollo hospital, no injuries

Kolkata, July 3: A fire broke out inside the operation theater of a leading city-based private hospital here on Monday, a fire department official said.

The fire broke out on the second floor of Apollo Gleneagles Hospital around 9 a.m. Primary investigation shows that a short circuit in the OT light might have caused the blaze, the fire official said.

The hospital authority said it was a minor fire and all patients and staff were safe.

"There was a minor fire in the OT cabin number nine in our hospital. However, our own security team was able to put out the blaze. We informed the fire brigade as a protocol. No patients or staff were hurt in the incident," hospital CEO Rana Dasgupta said.

However, West Bengal Fire Minister Sovan Chatterjee, who rushed to the spot after the incident, said an inquiry would be conducted to check if there was any negligence from the hospital's end.

"We cannot let the life of people be jeopardized like this. There will be an inquiry and appropriate legal action will be taken if any negligence is found," Chatterjee said.

"It is possible that the system to lock the smoke in case of a fire is either unavailable or not working properly. One of our firefighters was suffocated after inhaling the smoke while working today (Monday)," he added.