Jaipur:Panic grips hospital after steam pipeline bursts

JAIPUR: A private hospital witnessed chaos when a pipeline which supplies steam to laundry burst on Monday morning. The incident happened when chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s wife Sunita Gehlot was attending a programme in the hospital organised for celebrating Christmas with children suffering from cancer.

Smoke engulfed a section of Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital. Initially, when the smoke started coming out from the laundry, guards in the hospital immediately called the fire brigade. However, at first guards presumed that it was fire when they saw smoke emitting from laundry. Within few minutes, chaos and panic gripped the hospital.

When the fire brigade officials reached the spot they broke the window panes and used fans to clear the smoke created by steam. “The guards of the hospitals used fire extinguishers. The particles issued from extinguishers mixed with steam created more smoke. We used fans and broke the window panes to clear the smoke. However, no person got injured,” said Jagdish Phulwariya, chief fire officer, Jaipur.

Hospital administration claimed that due to proper safety and security measured adopted by the hospital, no loss of property and life was reported. “The pipeline of steam leaked in laundry. The hospital administration immediately called fire brigade. The laundry is situated in basement. We opened the doors of laundry to clear the smoke. No loss of property and life has been reported,” said Dr (Major general) SC Pareek, executive director of Bhagwan Mahaveer Hospital.

Sunita Gehlot said that on Christmas, children wait for Santa Claus for gifts. She said that people should not waste any opportunity to bring smiles on the faces of children who are fighting battle against chronic diseases.