Massive Fire Breaks Out at AIIMS in Delhi, Patients Being Shifted Out

New Delhi, August 17, 2019:

A massive fire has broken out at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Indian capital New Delhi.

The fire has reportedly broken out on the first and second floors of a building inside the hospital premises.

A total of 22 fire tenders have reached the spot and are trying to douse the flames. Sources say a short circuit caused the fire.

Rescue operations are on and there are no reports of anyone being injured in the fire so far.

Owing to the fire, authorities at AIIMS have closed the emergency department as a precautionary measure.

The building that caught fire is located in the teaching block of AIIMS, New Delhi, which is near the emergency department.

Meanwhile, a video shared from the site shows plumes of smoke emanating from the building, while the fire continues to rage.

This incident has set the alarm bells ringing across the country, including in the Northeast, as many natives are either employed in AIIMS or are admitted as patients.

As per reports, patients are being evacuated from the premises.

It may be mentioned that in March this year, a fire broke out on the ground floor of the hospital's Trauma Centre near one of the operation theatres. The patients had to be shifted to another ward then and others were evacuated since the smoke engulfed the ground floor.

Join us as we continue the awareness campaign to preserve the only Ramsar site in Assam which is facing immense threats (A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention). We need your help to preserve this site of great ecological importance. Join the #LetsSaveDeeporBeel campaign and tweet about it, and do tag us on Twitter. It is time to create awareness.