Mymensingh Medical College Hospital Fire: 4 Dead, No Evidence of Stampede Deaths
MYMENSINGH, Bangladesh — Sept. 15: Four people have died following a fire at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, but authorities said there is no evidence that anyone died in a stampede during the incident.
The fire broke out on the eighth floor of the hospital’s new building at around 5:55 p.m. Monday, triggering panic among patients and their relatives. Several people were injured as patients and attendants rushed down the stairs amid the chaos.
Mymensingh Divisional Commissioner S.M. Humayun Kabir said authorities had checked hospital records and spoken with firefighters, emergency department doctors, nurses and other staff but found no evidence of deaths caused by a stampede.
“We have not found any information or evidence that six people died in a stampede,” Kabir told reporters after inspecting the hospital shortly after midnight.
Of the four deaths reported after the incident, two were confirmed by their families as natural deaths, while doctors have yet to determine the causes of the other two, the commissioner said. He added that the exact causes would be established through further investigation.
Authorities also found an error in a list of reported deaths. Mymensingh-4 lawmaker and hospital management committee vice-chairman Abu Wahab Akand Wahid said a woman named Jahanara had been included in the death list even though she was alive and receiving treatment at the hospital.
“She is alive and still receiving treatment,” Wahid said, urging journalists to verify the list against the actual condition of patients.
Relatives claim two died on stairs
Despite the administration’s statement, relatives of two patients said they died after falling on the stairs while trying to escape the hospital following the fire.
One of them was Kulsum Akter, 35, from Balikha village in Tarakanda. She had been staying at the hospital for about 12 days with her 12-year-old son, Swadhin, who was being treated for jaundice.
According to Kulsum’s sister-in-law Nazma Akter, Kulsum was trying to take her son and 18-year-old daughter Mim downstairs after the fire broke out. Mim managed to get out but later returned and found people pulling her brother from the building while Kulsum was missing.
Kulsum was later rescued and given oxygen, Nazma said. She was still breathing at the time but died soon afterward.
Another victim, Shahjahan Monir, 45, from Bishnurampur village in Phulpur, had been receiving treatment for tuberculosis on the third floor of the new building for about 10 to 12 days.
His son, Palash Molla, said Shahjahan was going downstairs with his wife Harisa Akter and sister-in-law Jahanara Akter when people behind them pushed forward, causing them to fall.
Harisa and Jahanara were injured and are currently receiving treatment in the hospital’s Ward 10, Palash said.
Fire brought under control within 40 minutes
Mymensingh Fire Service Assistant Director Purna Chandra Mutsuddi said firefighters received the emergency call at 5:55 p.m. and reached the hospital within about 10 minutes.
A total of 10 firefighting units worked to contain the blaze, which was brought under control at around 6:30 p.m., he said.
Fire officials initially suspected that an electrical short circuit caused overheating in a board connected to the controller machine of an elevator control room on the eighth floor.
However, the exact cause of the fire will be determined after a formal investigation, officials said.
Authorities are also looking into allegations that one of the hospital’s two stairways was closed, forcing patients and relatives to use a single staircase during the evacuation. The divisional commissioner said hospital authorities had cited security concerns for keeping some stairways closed and that any negligence or irregularity would be investigated.
