Smoke scare again at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital

Kozhikode (Kerala) | A fresh smoke scare was reported on Monday at a block of the Government Medical College Hospital here, officials said.

This is the second such incident at the hospital building in recent days.

According to officials, the incident was reported from the sixth floor of the hospital, which houses superspecialty operation theatres. It happened while the Electrical Inspectorate was inspecting the building.

There were no patients on the sixth floor of the hospital.

However, patients from the fourth and fifth floors were quickly moved out of the block as a safety measure.

Firefighters arrived at the scene and brought the situation under control. The cause of the smoke is still not known.

Earlier, on May 2, a similar incident took place in the hospital's emergency department. Patients had to be shifted to nearby private hospitals at that time.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Veena George has sought an explanation regarding the admission of patients to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors of the building without government approval.

It had been decided in a meeting held in Kozhikode on Sunday that patients should only be admitted after ensuring proper safety measures are in place, an official release said.

The minister instructed the Director of Medical Education to seek an explanation from the superintendent of the medical college, it said.