Anantnag: A gas-cylinder blast at Anantnag’s Maternity and Child Care Hospital (MCCH) left eleven people injured, Tuesday afternoon, one of them critically.
The injured include three employees of the hospital, a mother-daughter, and at least one child. “One of the employees at the hospital has some serious injuries and has been referred to Srinagar for specialised treatment,” an official from the hospital said.
He identified the seriously injured as Suhail Raina, a resident of the Akad area in Anantnag district.
The official said that the rest of the injured had minor injuries and were treated at the Government Medical College Hospital, nearby. “All of them are stable. However, some of them might be sent to a Srinagar hospital later for treatment of their burn injuries,” the official said.
The incident took place at around noon, Tuesday, inside the ticketing counter of the MCCH. “Three of our employees and some attendants and patients were injured in the mishap,” the Medical Superintendent of the MCCH, Dr Muhammad Shafi , said while briefing the media.
He said that the gas cylinder was being used for heating purposes and did not explode, and it was only a gas leak. “There were some minor injuries and I have visited the injured at GMC. They are all stable,” the MS said.
Sources at the hospital, however, maintained that the cylinder did explode, causing the injuries. “It was a loud explosion and fortunately not many were injured,” the sources said, adding that the dilapidated condition of the MCCH building could have made things worse.
The building, years back, has been deemed unsafe by the Fire and Emergency Services and demands of shifting it to a safer building have been growing all along.
Meanwhile, the district administration in Anantnag has initiated an inquiry into the incident and has said that the cost of treatment for the injured will be covered by the government.

Suhail A Shah