JAIPUR: The Trauma Centre of Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh (SMS) Hospital, the largest in Rajasthan, became the site of a heart-wrenching tragedy after a massive fire in its ICU claimed multiple lives on Sunday night. While survivors were seen tending to their injured relatives, grieving families of the deceased were inconsolable, their cries echoing off the hospital’s corridors.
Among the victims was 33-year-old Digambar, who had been admitted to the ICU following a road accident and was on oxygen support. When the fire broke out and the oxygen supply was cut, he died almost immediately. His family, devastated, sat for hours beside his body outside the hospital, sobbing uncontrollably.
Another grieving family was that of Dilip, a patient who was scheduled to be discharged the next day. “We were about to take him home. Now we are taking home his body,” said a relative, as his mother wept inconsolably.
Similarly, the family of Sarvesh, another victim, alleged ill-treatment by hospital and police authorities. “We’ve lost our loved one in this accident, and now they are refusing to hand over the body,” they claimed, pleading for his remains.
Inside the ICU, amid suffocating smoke and chaos, families spoke of a scene of utter helplessness. According to several eyewitnesses, smoke had been noticed well before the fire erupted, and hospital staff were repeatedly alerted, but to no avail.
“We kept shouting that something was burning, but the staff ignored us. When the fire broke out, they all fled,” said Sheru, a resident of Bharatpur, who managed to rescue his mother from the ICU, but not without injury. “The plastic from the false ceiling melted, tube lights began to explode, and everything turned pitch black,” he recounted. “No one from the hospital came to help; we saved our patients ourselves.”
Sheru’s brother, Satvir Singh, who arrived at the hospital the next morning, was furious. “My brother saved our mother on his own. The hospital paid no attention. He inhaled a lot of smoke and his condition deteriorated.”
In another harrowing account, Narendra Singh said he was having dinner downstairs when the fire broke out. By the time he rushed back up, his mother, who had been in the ICU, had died. “There were no working fire extinguishers, no emergency systems in place,” he said.
Families allege that the fire began due to a short circuit, and the ICU’s closed structure allowed toxic fumes to spread rapidly. Burnt equipment, melted wiring, and soot-covered walls bear testimony to the scale of the disaster. They also claim that fire extinguishers were either absent or non-functional and that hospital staff abandoned patients instead of helping.
Protests erupted outside the Trauma Centre, with angry relatives demanding justice. Emotions flared when the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Jawahar Singh, visited the site. Families shouted, “We warned about the smoke 20 minutes earlier, no one responded. All the doctors and staff ran away when the fire broke out.”
Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma has ordered a probe into the tragedy and announced the formation of a five-member committee, headed by Medical Department Commissioner Iqbal Khan. The committee has been instructed to complete its investigation and submit a report at the earliest.
Meanwhile, former CM Ashok Gehlot visited SMS Hospital and met with the bereaved families. “It is deeply regrettable that these families are still awaiting a response from the state government,” he said. “The government has shown no sensitivity. No official has even spoken to them. The Chief Minister must speak with the families and constitute a judicial commission to ensure justice.”
As the investigation begins, questions loom large over the hospital’s preparedness, its safety protocols, and the broader accountability of those entrusted with protecting lives.
