Kozhikode: The preliminary postmortem reports of the five deceased in the recent fire incident at the emergency department of Kozhikode Medical College Hospital on Friday have been released. The findings indicate that the deaths were not caused by smoke inhalation.

The postmortem reports of Nazira, a native of Wayanad, Gangadharan, a resident of Meppayur, Gopalan, a native of West Hill, and Surendran, a resident of Vadakara, have been made public. According to the reports, all of them were already suffering from serious health issues. The postmortem findings state that no traces of smoke were detected in their lungs.

Hospital sources claimed that one of the deceased was already dead on arrival, while the others were in an extremely critical condition at the time of the incident.

Background of the patients

Among the five deceased, one person had attempted suicide by hanging and was declared dead upon arrival.

Another patient was undergoing treatment for advanced oral cancer.

One was suffering from a severe infection due to low blood count, and another was being treated for acute liver and kidney failure.

The fifth patient, diagnosed with pneumonia, was also critically ill.

Two of the patients, including a woman from Wayanad, who had consumed poison, were admitted after the afternoon and had reportedly been shifted before the smoke began to spread.

Cause of the incident

The fire originated from a short circuit in the UPS (battery unit) of the MRI unit located in the PMSSY block’s emergency department. The incident caused a loud blast and a significant cloud of smoke at around 7:45 pm on Friday.

Witnesses, including hospital staff, reported, "There was a loud blast, and then we couldn’t see anything."

The thick smoke triggered immediate evacuation measures.

Evacuation and response

Over 200 patients were promptly relocated to adjacent buildings within the medical college campus. Around 30 patients opted to move to private hospitals, while the remaining were accommodated at Beach Hospital, where a team from the Medical College was deployed to continue treatment. Officials stated that all necessary arrangements were made, and the old casualty wing has been temporarily repurposed to handle emergency cases.

Health Minister Veena George stated that the police have registered a case and initiated an investigation into the accident and the unnatural deaths. A team of expert doctors has been appointed to conduct a detailed investigation into the fatalities.