Kolkata: Fire breaks out at SSKM hospital, no casualties reported

Kolkata: A fire broke out at the CT scan department of Kolkata's SSKM Hospital, the tertiary referral government hospital. The situation is currently under control, and no casualties have been reported.  

The fire which broke out on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, has been brought under control, said Commissioner of Police Vineet Kumar Goyal.

"At around 10.30 pm, fire broke out in the CT scan room at SSKM hospital and fire tenders were called. Locals helped in the evacuation. The fire is under control, the cooling process is underway. Forensic experts to probe further," Goyal told ANI.

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Ten fire tenders were brought on the spot. They brought the blaze under control after one-and-a-half hours. According to TOI sources, the fire first started in the first-floor room that houses radiology equipment, including CT scanners and X-ray machines, right above the hospital's emergency department.

As per preliminary reports, the fire that broke out at the CT scan room spread to the X-ray room in a matter of minutes. Police suspect one scanning machine to be the cause behind the fire.

"Emergency services started again. Fire is entirely under control. Nobody injured," minister Arup Biswas had told ANI.

Luckily no patients or hospital staff were present on the first floor of the emergency building at that time. However, the hospital authorities moved the patients from the building adjoining the affected floor to a different ward to prevent the smoke from reaching the patients.  

Power minister Arup Biswas said "It appears the smoke is due to a fire in the CT scanner. There were no patients inside."

After reaching the spot, Fire minister Sujit Bose said "The fire was reported from an empty room. We are taking all precautions while trying to control it."

Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim and Bengal power minister Arup Biswas rushed to the spot to oversee the firefighting operation closely. State chief secretary HK Dwivedi and MLA Madan Mitra also visited the SSKM Hospital.

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