40 injured as fire disrupts services at RMCH

At least 40 patients and their relatives were injured while rushing to leave Rangpur Medical College Hospital after a fire broke out on its ground floor on Thursday (October 22), disrupting medical services due to a prolonged power outage.

The fire reportedly originated from a switchboard near the administrative section of the hospital's electrical control room at around 6:15AM. Fire service personnel rushed to the scene and brought the blaze under control.

Panic spread across the hospital as patients and their relatives tried to evacuate wards on different floors. Several people were injured after falling while rushing down the stairs, according to hospital authorities, patients and fire service sources.

Among the injured were patients from the nephrology and gynaecology wards. A kidney patient, Shafiul Alam, and his two nephews were injured while attempting to leave the nephrology ward. Several patients and relatives also sustained injuries while carrying newborns out of the gynaecology ward.