2 women killed in hospital fire in India

NEW DELHI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least two women patients were killed and some others injured Monday in a devastating fire incident in a privately-run hospital in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, police said.

The fire broke out during morning hours at Sai hospital in Bairelly district, about 282 km northwest of Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh.

"Today early morning a fire broke out inside intensive care unit (ICU) of Sai hospital, a privately run health care institute, in which two women patients were killed and few others reported injured," a police official posted in Bairelly said. "At the time of fire the patients and most of the staff deployed there were asleep."

The injured were immediately removed to government district hospital for the treatment, police said.

Eyewitnesses said immediately after the fire the hospital was filled with smoke and people were seen running out for safety.

Following the incident fire tenders were rushed to the spot to contain the fire from spreading in the hospital and subsequent area.

The cause of fire was not immediately known.

Police have registered a case and ordered investigations.

Chances of fire in Indian villages and cites are usually high as people usually ignore safety standards vis-a-vis fire and store fuel and combustible materials in a haphazard manner. Enditem