Multi-agency probe underway into smoke incident at hospital, says Kerala govt

Kozhikode/New Delhi | Kerala government on Saturday ordered a multi-agency probe into the smoke incident reported at the government medical college hospital here which led to the emergency evacuation of several patients and bystanders.

Five deaths were reported among patients who were evacuated from the emergency department on Friday, prompting the Congress and the BJP to link the fatalities to the smoke.

Addressing the media in Kozhikode, state Health Minister Veena George said it was not yet clear whether the deaths were related to the smoke incident.

The smoke reportedly originated from the UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) room at the hospital, leading to the emergency evacuation of patients and bystanders.

George said an expert medical team would examine the causes of deaths of five patients reported at the hospital.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in New Delhi that an electrical inspectorate is carrying out an investigation in this regard and the exact cause could be ascertained only after that.

The medical college authorities made it clear that none of the deaths were caused due to smoke inhalation, but the Congress wanted the doubts and concerns of relatives of the deceased persons be addressed by conducting post-mortem.

After visiting the hospital, George said an autopsy would be carried out, which is essential to scientifically prove the exact cause of the deaths.

The minister said the electrical inspectorate and the police are investigating the technical aspect to unravel the causes that led to the spread of smoke in one of the buildings of the hospital on Friday at 7 pm.

The forensic examination is also progressing as part of the police investigation, she added.

As per the preliminary inquiry carried out by the electrical wing of the state Public Works Department (PWD), either short circuit or the issues inside the battery of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine's UPS unit could be the cause that led to the smoke. "We can ascertain the exact cause only after these investigations are completed and get a report," she said.

Directions have been given to complete the probe at the earliest, she said, and added that normalcy is expected to be restored in next two-three days.

Quoting the doctors and other experts at the hospital, George said of the five deaths reported, one was a dead-on-arrival case.

"The doctors here told me that another deceased patient suffered a cardiac arrest by 7 pm. Another patient was shifted from there with the non-invasive ventilation (NIV) itself," she said.

"Of these five cases, one was an alleged hanging case and another was a poison intake case. So, naturally a post-mortem would be carried out in both these cases," she said.

In view of the complaints, autopsies would be carried out in all cases, she said, adding that an expert team of doctors from other hospitals would examine the causes that had led to the death of these patients.

George also made it clear that there is no hurdle before the health department to talk to private hospitals management about the treatment expenses of some of the patients admitted there after being shifted from the medical college following the smoke incident.

There were 151 patients at the hospital when the incident happened and among them, 114 are still under treatment. Thirty seven patients were shifted to other hospitals, she said.

In the wake of the incident, the Congress urged the authorities to bear the expenses of other patients who were shifted to nearby hospitals.

The Medical College Police said they have registered a case for unnatural death into the death of three patients reported at the government hospital after the smoke incident and a probe is underway.

Congress's Kalpetta legislator T Siddique alleged on Saturday that there was a huge lapse from the side of the medical college authorities in terms of fire and safety. A separate probe should be carried out into that aspect, he told reporters here.

"The government should be ready to carry out a high-level probe into the factors that have led to the death of those patients. Let all such aspects come out in the probe," he said.

Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi spoke to the district collector over the incident. She wanted the state government to bear the expenses of the deceased patients and provide all necessary assistance to their kin, party sources said.

A group of BJP workers took out a protest march to the medical college demanding that the post-mortem of the patients should be carried out in some other hospitals to bring out the truth. They were removed by police later.

Former BJP state chief K Surendran criticised the state government over the incident and demanded the resignation of the health minister in this regard.

Abdullah, one of the patients who was shifted from the hospital after the incident, said he managed to get out of the emergency ward holding his glucose drip in his hands.

"The power supply went three times before the smoke incident. Hearing the clamour outside, first I thought it might be some other issues inside the hospital. Later, smoke was seen spreading across the building. So, I also ran along with others," he told the media on Saturday.

All patients in the building were quickly evacuated, hospital authorities said.