Fire at Kolkata Medical College and hospital doused; 250 patients evacuated

Kolkata, Oct 3: Fire that erupted at Calcutta Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday have been doused. Around 10 fire tenders and a team of Kolkata police officers were rushed to the spot and over 250 patients have been evacuated.

Fire fighters douse a fire

Fire fighters douse a fire which broke out in a pharmacy building of state-run Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, in Kolkata. The fire department was alerted after smoke was spotted from the building that houses the pharmacy at around 8 am. Apart from the firefighters and the police, West Bengal's disaster management authority officials have also reached the medical college.

Patients being evacuated after a fire broke out

Many patients had to be taken out of the building in stretchers and even bed sheets with their saline drips. Some of the patients were seen lying on the floor.

Some of the patients were moved out of the hospital in ambulances and taken to other state-run hospitals.

Several patients with asthma and lung illnesses have been shifted to other wards due to smoke, the Kolkata Police said.

Medicines stocked in dispensary reduced to ashes

The reason behind the blaze is yet to be ascertained," a fire brigade official was quoted as saying by news agency IANS. Though no flames were seen, black smoke billowed from the mail building of the hospital. Medicines stocked in the dispensary have been reduced to ashes.

The oxygen cylinders kept in the store room of the hospital are a matter of concern as the room is close to the epicenter of the fire, the fire department officials said. The firefighters and hospital staff are making efforts to remove the oxygen cylinders from the building.

Second such incident in Kolkata

This is the second such incident in Kolkata in the last one month. On September 16, the city's multi-storey Bagri Market had witnessed a fire, which gutted nearly 1,000 shops and business establishments - mainly cosmetics, toy and cloth shops. Thirty fire tenders were pressed into service to contain the blaze which kept raging for over 12 hours.

Calcutta Medical College, was established in 1835

The Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, commonly referred to as Calcutta Medical College, was established in 1835 and is the second oldest medical college in India after Ecole de Medecine of Puducherry.