Mumbai: In a tragic accident, an on-duty resident medical officer was killed as fire broke out in a private hospital on November 7, Thursday.
The incident occurred at Gokul Hospital in Mulund area of northeast Mumbai at around 3.30am.The fire was brought under control by noon but the cause of the fire is not yet clear.
At least 15 patients and hospital staff were evacuated. RMO Dr Rahul Mukundrao Rudrawar (27), who had joined the hospital recently, is believed to have suffocated to death, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Disaster Control Centre said.
Police officials stated that the fire was likely to have been caused by a short circuit, but an inquest was on. Speaking to the media , Dr Naresh Mehta, owner of the private hospital at Munshi Estate on MG Road, said, “There has been significant loss on account of the mishap, with medicines worth Rs 15 lakh getting damaged. Besides, a lot of original documents and patients medical histories have also been reduced to ashes. The short circuit seems to have occurred in the meter box outside, and affected the OPD and medical store.”
It is said that 14 patients were receiving care in the hospital at the time of the tragedy. They were all shifted to the adjacent Shraddha Hospital. “We have been operating in Mulund since 1998, and have four fire extinguishers for emergency situations,” added Dr Mehta.
Dr Rudrawar, who is from Beed, was initially taken to Mulund General Hospital, where he was declared dead. His body was then moved to Rajawadi Hospital for post-mortem.
Recounting the nightmare Kalpana Tiwari, whose son Anil was receiving treatment at the hospital, said, “The doctor who lost his life, had come to see my son a few hours before the incident. He had declared my son fit, and was about to discharge him.” 48-year-old Moinuddin Khan, who was also admitted at the institute, said, “I had come from Vada for treatment. I had never imagined that a hospital building could be so badly charred in a fire.”
Medicines worth Rs 15 lakh were destroyed in the fire.
