Cuttack, March 16: A 73-year-old patient died in the fire that broke out at the Trauma Care Centre of SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack late Sunday night.
The deceased has been identified as Krushna Chandra Biswal of Naupal village under Chormuhan Panchayat in the Dharmasala police limits. He had been admitted to SCB Medical on March 9 after suffering from a blood clot in the head. Following surgery on March 12, he was undergoing treatment in the ICU and was reportedly recovering. He was scheduled to be shifted from the ICU to a general ward on Monday.
However, a fire suddenly broke out in the ICU of the Trauma Care Centre at around 2:30 am on Sunday, leading to chaos inside the hospital. Biswal lost his life in the incident.
Speaking about the incident, his son Paramananda Biswal said he was standing outside the ICU when the fire broke out. “Security personnel immediately asked attendants to vacate the area after the fire was detected. We came outside in fear. My father could have come out as he was able to walk, but we were not allowed to enter the ward. People were running in panic and we searched for him for a long time but could not find him,” he said.
According to Paramananda, the hospital authorities confirmed his father’s death around 7 am after he showed them his Aadhaar card.
The body will be handed over to the family after post-mortem, following which the last rites will be performed at Swargadwar in Puri, he added.
