Amritsar: A major tragedy was averted at the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital here after a massive fire broke out in two wards and the outpatient department (OPD). The staff and the attendants scrambled to save patients and there was no loss of life or serious injury to anyone.
The fire started after multiple explosions in two transformers near the X-ray department and spread to the nearby multifloor wards of the skin and cardiology patients, besides the OPD. More than 600 patients were in its range. Because of thick smoke and raging flames, rescuers avoided the staircase and smashed windowpanes to make an escape route. Fire tenders, later, brought blaze under control.
Government Medical College principal, Dr Rajiv Devgun, confirmed there had been blasts in the two transformers.
Sources said the leakage of inflammable transformer oil could have started this fire. State power minister, Harbhajan Singh, visited the site, met the rescued patients, ordered an inquiry, and said they would install a substation at the hospital.
