2 children escape injury after moving fan falls at Barishal hospital

A moving ceiling fan fell from the ceiling at Muladi Upazila Health Complex in Barishal on Tuesday evening, narrowly missing two children and leaving everyone unharmed.

The incident occurred around 6PM on Tuesday in the waiting area in front of the hospital’s emergency department. Five to six people were waiting there at the time, but no one was injured.

Hafsa Begum, an eyewitness, said five to six people, including two children, were seated on four benches outside the emergency department when a running ceiling fan suddenly came loose and crashed to the floor beside the children.

The children escaped injury because the fan did not hit them, she said, adding that a potentially serious accident was narrowly avoided.

The incident has raised concerns among patients and their relatives over safety at the health complex. They have called for old and potentially hazardous ceiling fans throughout the hospital to be inspected and repaired or replaced as necessary.

Syed Fazle Rabbi, the upazila health and family planning officer at Muladi, said an old fan had fallen, but no one was harmed.

He said he had instructed the hospital’s electrician to inspect all the fans and replace those deemed unsafe.