CM Vijay Rupani announces ₹4 lakh assistance for 18 dead in hospital fire

Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani on Saturday announced financial assistance of ₹4 lakh for the families of 18 people, who were killed in a fire at a Covid-19 designated hospital in the state’s Bharuch. Rupani also extended his condolences to the patients, doctors and the hospital staff who lost their lives in the fire.

“I express my condolences towards the patients, doctors and hospital staff who have lost their lives in the fire accident at Bharuch Hospital. The state government will provide assistance of ₹4 lakh to the families of each of the victims of the accident,” Rupani said, according to sources.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his condolences to the families of the victims of the accident in Bharuch. "Pained by the loss of lives due to a fire at a hospital in Bharuch. Condolences to the bereaved families," Prime Minister Modi tweeted.

The fire broke out at the four-storied Welfare Hospital in Bharuch early on Saturday. Fifty other patients were rescued by local residents and firefighters from the Covid-19 ward.

The intensity of the fire was such that the hospital's ICU ward almost burnt to the ground. The equipment that was stored inside, which included beds, ventilators and fridge for storing medicines, turned to ashes, according to a report. Patients were charred beyond recognition and their relatives found it difficult to identify their bodies.