Massive fire breaks out at Andhra Pradesh COVID-19 facility, 9 dead, many feared trapped

Several are feared trapped inside the building while 20 people have been rescued so far.

Around 15-20 people received injuries due to the fire and at least 2-3 are in critical conditions, said reports.

The fire broke out at 5:15 am. It was brought under control within 30 minutes.

"The incident took place around 5 am. We are evacuating the entire building. The reason of fire appears to be a short circuit, as per the preliminary report, but we will have to ascertain," Krishna District Collector Mohammad Imtiaz told media.

Reacting to the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep anguish and assured of 'all possible support' to the state government.

"Anguished by the fire at a Covid Centre in Vijayawada. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover as soon as possible. Discussed the prevailing situation with AP CM @ysjagan Ji and assured all possible support," he wrote on Twitter.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah condoled the incident and tweet: "Deeply anguished by the news of tragic fire accident at a COVID-19 facility in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Centre assures all possible support to the state govt. My condolences are with the affected families in this time of grief. "

Hotel Swarna Palace was converted into COVID-19 facility and was used by Ramesh hospitals to treat infected patients.

There were about 30 coronavirus positive patients at the hotel during the time of the accident.

Earlier this month, eight coronavirus patients died in a huge fire in the intensive care ward of a private hospital in Gujarat's Ahmedabad.

Andhra Pradesh reported 10,080 fresh infections on Saturday, taking the overall tally to 2,17,040 in the state.

About  97 fatalities were recorded due to the contagion in a single day.

Image credit: Arjun Varikooti Twitter Handle