A fierce fire broke out in Kirti Krishna Children’s Hospital of Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday evening, causing chaos in the entire campus. More than 20 children and others were saved with the help of temporary ropes. The fire broke out in the hospital basement at around 4 pm, which was allegedly due to a short circuit in electrical appliances and batteries kept there. As soon as the smoke rapidly spread to the upper floor, the hospital turned into a gas chamber, which led to a strong effort to evacuate people.
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At least two dozen children were hospitalized at the time of the incident, and the same number of attendants were present on the floor, first and second floors. While many children managed to get out of the lower floors, the children trapped on the second floor were saved with the help of temporary ropes and stairs made of dhotis. Many seriously ill children were taken to Nirmal Nursing Home and other hospitals through ambulances. Fire department teams, which reached the spot with fire engines, finally overcame the fire. According to fire officer Mahesh Pratap Singh, the fire was caused by a short circuit and no casualties were reported. He confirmed that all the children were taken out safely.
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Eyewitnesses and relatives of patients reported a scene of chaos and smoke-filled corridors, where family and employees were desperate to rescue. Aparna Gupta, an employee of the hospital, said that about 17–18 children were inside at that time. Some of them were on oxygen support and had to be immediately removed from there. He further stated that fire safety measures were insufficient due to electricity obstructions, and it was difficult to use fire fighting equipment effectively due to smoke.