Fire breaks out at private hospital in West Delhi, six fire tenders at site

A fire occurred at a private hospital in West Delhi's Paschim Vihar area on Tuesday, officials said.

The trapped people were safely evacuated from the premises of the Eye Mantra Hospital, where a fire started on the second floor, a Delhi Fire Services official said. No injuries have been reported.

Six fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the blaze. The fire has been brought under control now.

The incident took place two days after a massive fire broke out at another hospital in the national capital, in which seven infants were killed.

An investigation is underway into the cause of the fire incident at East Delhi’s Baby Care Newborn Hospital, where 12 newborns, two nurses, and a doctor were inside the building when the incident took place on Saturday night.

Following the incident, the administration has instructed all Delhi hospitals to complete fire audits and submit compliance reports by June 8.

“The Delhi government will issue directions to all private and state-run hospitals to complete a fire audit by June 8 and submit a compliance report,” Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said.

“Initially, seven children were reported to have died in the blaze, but later we realised that one of the newborns admitted there had passed away before the incident,” an official said.

An initial probe into the incident revealed that the hospital lacked basic fire safety equipment like extinguishers and water hoses.

The Delhi police have arrested the hospital’s owner in connection with the matter.