West Bengal: Fire at Kolkata Medical College Hospital, 250 patients evacuated

A fire broke out in the dispensary of the state-run Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday, October 3, following which around 250 patients have been evacuated from the premises, fire officials said.

The state minister for fire and emergency services Sovan Chatterjee said that no one was injured. Ten fire tenders were rushed to the spot. "The blaze broke out at a medical store in the ground floor of the MCH building at around 7.58 am. The reason behind the blaze is yet to be ascertained," a fire official said.

Some of the evacuated patients have been shifted to other state-run hospitals.

The Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, commonly referred to as Calcutta Medical College, was established in 1835 and is the second oldest medical college in India after Ecole de Medecine of Puducherry.

Thick smoke was seen billowing from the ground floor of the hospital's main building where the dispensary is housed. Medicines stocked in the dispensary have been reduced to ashes. A senior fire official said the fire has been brought under control.

"Fire broke out at the medicine counter at around 8 am. Since this is a huge medical facility and so many patients come here everyday, we did not want to take any chance," a senior fire official said.

A disaster management team of the Kolkata Police, fire officials and senior officials have reached the spot.

"I have been told that patients have been evacuated. We are looking into the incident," said Chatterjee. "There are no reports of injury or casualty. There is a huge smoke. All the patients have been evacuated. The fire fighters were present in the affected building to find the source of the blaze,” said the minister.

(With inputs from agencies)