Bengaluru, 1 July

A minor fire broke out in the seminar room of the burns ward of the state-run Victoria Hospital in the wee hours of Tuesday, following which 26 patients were shifted to another ward, officials said.

No casualties or injuries were reported in the incident, they said.

According to hospital officials, the fire that broke out at 3 am is suspected to have occurred due to a short circuit of a switch board in the seminar room adjacent to the ward on the first floor of the building.

A resident doctor on duty noticed the fire and immediately alerted the authorities. The fire department came and extinguished the blaze.

At the time of the incident, there were 26 patients, including 14 men, five women and seven children in the burns ward.

Among them, five patients were in ICU, Ramesh Krishna K, Dean and Director of Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute said in a statement.

"In view of the smoke and as a precautionary measure, we have shifted all the 26 burns patients from this ward to H Block of Victoria Hospital. All the patients, attenders, doctors and hospital staff are safe and the situation is under control, he said.