TIRUCHY: Patients in the maternity ward were safely shifted after a fire, attributed to a short circuit, broke out at the Raja Mirasdar Government Hospital in Thanjavur on Thursday.
Over 54 patients, including 30 infants, were moved to safer places after the fire was reported around 11.30 am, following the emergence of a thick blanket of smoke from the ward. Nurses and paramedical staff evacuated all safely.
Two staff members sustained suffocation while conducting the rescue operation and were admitted for treatment.
On information, District Fire and Rescue personnel rushed to the spot, suspended the power supply, and took the situation under control.
District Collector B. Priyanka Pankajam, SP R Rajaram, and other officials rushed to the hospital and conducted an inquiry. “Fire flakes fell onto a bed that caught fire and spread to the maternity ward. Everyone, including the infants, was shifted from the ward,” said the Collector. The Collector pacified the patients and lauded the hospital staff for their swift action.