10 dead in fire at coronavirus facility in Vijayawada hotel; AP govt anounces Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia

Vijayawada, Aug 09: A major fire broke out at Swarna palace, a hotel being used as coronavirus COVID-19 facility, in Andhra Pradesh's Vijayawada city on Sunday (August 9) morning. According to police at least nine Covid-19 patients died and several others were injured during the incident. The incident took place around 5 am.

It is learnt that around 30 COVID-19 patients were present inside the Swarna Palace hotel situated on Eluru Road when the fire broke out. The COVID-19 patients in the hotel were shifted to other hospital.

''The incident took place around 5 am. Around 22 patients are being treated in hospital. We are evacuating the entire building. The reason of fire appears to be a short circuit, as per the preliminary report, but we will have to ascertain,'' Krishna DC Mohammad Imtiaz said.

Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed shock & grief over the fire mishap and enquired about the cause of the accident. He directed the concerned officials to take up the rescue measures and admit the injured in nearby hospitals. The Chief Minister also instructed officials to conduct an inquiry into the accident. The fire occurred in the hotel which was taken on lease and being run by a private hospital to treat COVID19 patient.

Andhra Pradesh government has announces Rs 50 lakhs ex gratia each to the families of those who lost their lives in the fire at a hotel, being utilised as a COVID19 facility in Vijayawada.

Meanwhile, eight people were killed in a fire in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a private Covid-19 designated hospital in Gujarat's Ahmedabad on Thursday. Police had said the fire broke out due to a short circuit on the fourth floor of the hospital.