Kozhikode: Medical College authorities are expected to bring clarity regarding the five deaths at Government Medical College hospital on Friday were due to inhalation of smoke following a short circuit that occurred during the night.  It is reported that the Medical College authorities have decided to conduct post mortem of all five persons who died on Friday at the hospital. Besides, police have registered a case for unnatural death in connection with the incident. 

A short circuit in the UPS (battery unit) of the MRI unit in the PMSSY Block Emergency Department caused an explosion and smoke outbreak. The deaths of West Hill resident Gopalan, Koyilandy native Gangadharan, Ganga from West Bengal, Naseera from Wayanad and Surendran from Vadakara are under scrutiny regarding the exact cause.

Hospital authorities have said that the deaths were not due to smoke inhalation. However, in light of allegations raised by some of the deceased’s relatives, clarity is being sought. The bodies are currently kept in the mortuary, and post-mortems will be conducted for those with suspected cause of death to determine the exact reason.

The hospital authorities have claimed that three of the patients died due to their medical conditions, and their relatives have not raised any objections. Naseera from Wayanad and Ganga from West Bengal were reportedly admitted following suicide attempts. The Medical College Principal said that Ganga had died before reaching the hospital. Meanwhile, Naseera’s brother has alleged negligence in her death, claiming that she died after being removed from the ventilator.

“Naseera was in the ICU. The emergency door here was locked with a chain. Since oxygen and other treatments were being administered, the ICU patients had to be evacuated by breaking open the door. She was placed outside without ventilator support, and later, after being moved again, her pulse dropped and she died,” the brother said.

A meeting of the Medical College authorities will be held at 10 AM. Discussions will be held with the relatives of the deceased. Post-mortems will be conducted on the bodies of Naseera and Ganga. Decisions regarding the others will be taken after consulting with their families.

Following the incident, MLA T. Siddique alleged that three people died as a result of the accident. However, Medical College Principal Dr K.G. Sajith Kumar has denied this allegation.

There were a total of 200 patients in the PMSSY building. They were relocated to different areas including the Medical College wards, ICU, Super Speciality, Tertiary Cancer Care and nearby private hospitals.