Thuravoor hospital fire: Medicines worth Rs 1.25 crore destroyed

THURAVOOR: Preliminary assessments indicate that medicines worth around Rs 1.25 crore were destroyed in the fire that broke out yesterday at Thuravoor Taluk Hospital. No casualties were reported. The fire broke out around 9:30 AM yesterday in a temporary structure used for storing medicines. The room, built with tin sheets, was located on the third floor of the hospital’s old building.

According to reports, a staff member who arrived to collect medicines noticed flames and smoke rising from an electrical line. She immediately informed the hospital aid post, which then alerted the police and the fire force. Fire and rescue units from Aroor, Cherthala, Mattancherry, and Alappuzha reached the spot and managed to bring the fire under control after hours of effort.

At the time of the incident, 21 people were present in the dialysis centre located on the lower floor of the building. This included 11 dialysis patients and four pregnant women. Hospital staff safely evacuated all of them. The patients were later shifted to hospitals in Alappuzha, Cherthala, Ernakulam, and Aroor. A woman who was in the labour room was moved to a private hospital in Cherthala, where she delivered soon after arrival.

Leaders, including Dalima Jojo, Shanimol Usman, and P. S. Jyothis, visited the site. The Kerala Police have registered a case and started an investigation. Pattanakkad Block Panchayat President C. K. Rajendran has demanded a detailed inquiry into the incident.