Massive fire breaks out at Lucknow’s trauma centre

Lucknow, July 15 (IANS) A massive fire broke out at the trauma centre of the King George's Medical College here, police said. While no casualties have been reported yet, more than 150 critically ill and injured patients have been shifted to alternative places.

The fire broke out on the second floor housing the disaster management ward and soon leaped to the third floor as well. More than two dozen fire tenders have been rushed to the scene and senior officials led by District Magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma are camping there to oversee rescue and relief operations.

The possible reason of the fire is said to be a short circuit. Many inflammable items are present at the trauma centre, leading to the fire spreading very fast.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asked officials to ensure the fire is doused at the earliest and oversee relief and rescue work.

Orders have been also issued to ensure that there was no chaos and that patients admitted at the centre are shifted to alternative place for treatment.

Terming the incident as sad and unfortunate, Adityanath instructed the Divisional Commissioner to probe the matter and present a report within three days so that accountability of the guilty can be fixed and action initiated against them.