Muzaffarpur hospital fire toll rises to six as ICU patient dies

The death toll in the Muzaffarpur hospital fire tragedy rose to six after another critically ill ICU patient succumbed. Authorities have ordered an FIR and launched an inquiry into the incident, which allegedly involved staff abandoning patients during the emergency

Muzaffarpur (Bihar): The toll in the hospital fire tragedy in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur rose to six with one of the patients taken out from the smoke-filled ICU breathing his last, an official said on Friday.

The patient died at another health facility, he said.
Muzaffarpur District Magistrate Subrat Sen said the deceased, identified as Brajnandan Rai, was from Kurhani block in the north Bihar district.

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“Rai was among the many patients whom fire officials had rescued from the ICU of Prasad Hospital. As was expected in the case of an ICU, all the patients were in a serious condition and arrangements were made by the administration to get them admitted to hospitals nearby. Unfortunately, Rai did not survive,” Sen said.

An ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh was paid to Rai’s family, as per the state government’s policy. On Thursday, five patients had choked to death when smoke filled the ICU of the hospital after a short circuit, and the hospital staff allegedly ran away, leaving them in the lurch.

The district administration has set up a five-member committee to look into the incident, while Girivar Dayal Singh, the Commissioner of Tirhut Division headquartered in Muzaffarpur, has ordered that an FIR be lodged so that those guilty of a lapse may be brought to book.