Fire at Barishal Sher-e-Bangla Hospital, one die in CCU, says family

A fire broke out in the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of Barishal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital last night.

One of the patients died during the incident. Relatives say he may have died in panic. However, the hospital authorities said that the death of the patient was not related to the fire, reports our local correspondent.

The fire started around 9.30pm after the central oxygen line exploded, confirmed Selina Akhter, care administrator at the hospital.

Panic spread among the patients and their attendants over the fire. However, the blaze was brought under control by the hospital staff within 15-20 minutes, she said.

One of the patients, Ranadi Das (60), died at the unit during the fire. He was alive when the fire broke out, said the deceased's daughter, reports Bangla Daily Prothom Alo. But he was no longer responding around 11:15pm, the daughter said, adding that panic due to the fire might have led to his death.

However, the hospital authorities claimed that Ranadi Das was already in critical state and his death was not related to the fire.

Ranadi Das died more than one hour after the fire had started, Selina claimed.

The other patients at the CCU were shifted to the adjacent post-operative ward, Selina added.

A five-member probe committee was formed to look into the incident, said Saiful Islam, director of the hospital.

According to primary investigation, the fire started from an electric short circuit.