'I screamed her name, but she never came out’: Families mourn after Jaipur ICU fire kills 8

Dubai: Smoke, chaos and unanswered cries filled the Trauma Centre at Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh (SMS) Hospital late Sunday night, as a devastating blaze tore through the Neuro ICU, killing eight patients — three of them women — and leaving families in anguish over ignored warnings and missing staff.

The fire, which broke out around 11.20 p.m., started in the storeroom of the ICU ward where medical papers, plastic tubes and equipment were stacked. Within minutes, thick smoke engulfed the entire floor, trapping patients who were unable to move. Relatives waiting outside watched in horror as the ward filled with smoke and no hospital staff were in sight.

“I saw sparks coming from the storeroom and told the staff there was a short circuit,” said Lekhraj, son of Kushma Devi (55), one of the victims. “They said it was nothing serious. Fifteen minutes later, smoke filled the room. I shouted my mother’s name again and again, but she never came out," he told The Indian Express.

Gurpreet Arora, whose mother Rukmani Kaur was admitted to the same ward, said his cousin collapsed while trying to rescue her. “He went inside several times to pull her out. The smoke was too heavy; he couldn’t breathe. My mother didn’t survive — and we still haven’t received her body,” he said.

Outside the hospital, dozens of relatives broke down, holding medical slips and photographs, demanding to see their loved ones. “Smoke started billowing nearly 20 minutes before the fire,” said Sheru, another attendant. “We kept warning the staff, but they didn’t act. When the flames spread, the ward boys ran away.”

Hospital employees later admitted that the ICU had only one entry and exit point — a design flaw that proved fatal. Firefighters said they had to break glass panes from outside to spray water inside as smoke made entry impossible.

“The entire ward was filled with smoke when we reached,” said fire officer Awadhesh Pandey. “We had to remove window panels and direct the hose through them. It took more than an hour to control the blaze.”

When forensic teams inspected the site early Monday morning, the second-floor ward was littered with burnt beds, twisted metal frames and shards of glass.

Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma termed the incident “tragic” and rushed to the hospital at 2:30 a.m., meeting doctors and distraught relatives. He ordered a six-member high-level probe led by Iqbal Khan, Commissioner of the Medical Education Department, to determine the cause and identify lapses.

“The safety and care of patients are our top priorities,” Sharma said. “Any negligence will not be tolerated.”

He postponed his official engagements in Delhi and stayed in Jaipur to personally monitor relief and rescue operations. The Chief Minister also instructed hospital authorities to provide immediate support to affected families.

By morning, grief turned to anger. Relatives gathered outside the Trauma Centre gates, chanting slogans and demanding accountability. “Our loved ones came here for treatment — not to die in smoke,” one man shouted as police tried to calm the crowd.

Leader of the Opposition Tika Ram Jully called the incident “heartbreaking and shameful,” urging a state-wide fire safety audit across all hospitals. “This horrific incident has shaken us all,” he said in a social media post.

As the sun rose over Jaipur, the air around SMS Hospital still carried the acrid smell of burnt wires and antiseptic — a grim reminder of the eight lives lost to negligence, and a warning that India’s hospitals remain far from safe havens for those who seek healing.

-- Inputs from IANS