Nine people were killed after a massive fire broke out at a hotel which was being converted as COVID-19 care facility  in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijaywada. There were reportedly 30 Coronavirus patients at the facility at the time of the accident.

The reason of fire appears to be a short circuit, as per preliminary investigations, reported NDTV.

The blaze broke out at around 5 am and fire tenders rushed to the spot managed to bring the fire under control within 30 minutes. The fire had led to panic among the patients admitted in the facility; two people had reportedly jumped off the building to save their lives, as per officials.

“We have recovered seven bodies. The hotel was taken by a private hospital to treat COVID-19 patients. The fire broke out in the early hours. Rescue operations are on,” Krishna district Collector MD Imtiaz said.

“About 20 patients have been shifted to various hospitals. There were 30 patients undergoing treatment at the facility and 10 hospital staff,” Vijayawada Police Commissioner B Srinivasulu was quoted by PTI as saying.

Ramesh hospitals took Hotel Swarna Palace on lease to make it a Covid care centre.

“15-20 people have been injured in the incident. They have been rushed to hospital. 2-3 of them are critical,”a senior police officer was quoted by NDTV as saying.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed shock over the incident and ordered an inquiry into it.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took to Twitter and assured all possible support to the chief minister.

“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,” PM Modi tweeted.

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.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 9, 2020

The COVID-19 death toll in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday reached 1,939 after 97 more people succumbed to the disease, the highest so far in a single day, according to health officials. The overall tally in the state now stands at 2,17,040, with 10,080 fresh infections for the fourth straight day on Saturday.

As many as 9,151 persons were discharged while currently there are 85,486 active cases in the southern state even as 1,29, 615 persons have been recovered so far, officials added.