Jaipur

Fourteen critically ill patients, including ten who were on ventilator support, were shifted out of the intensive care unit (ICU) at the government-run Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital after water from a leaking pipeline flooded the ward, hospital officials said on Tuesday.

According to hospital staff, nearly six inches of water accumulated inside the ICU late Monday night, raising serious safety concerns due to the presence of sensitive medical equipment and electrical installations.

Trauma Centre in-charge Dr B L Yadav said the leakage occurred because of old and corroded pipelines buried beneath the ICU area during earlier construction work. “The space where the ICU currently stands earlier had rooms and toilets. During construction, old water pipelines were buried. Over time, these pipelines corroded, leading to the leakage,” he explained.

As a precautionary measure, all 14 patients admitted to the affected ICU were immediately relocated to other wards within the hospital. Of them, 10 patients were on ventilator support, Dr Yadav said, adding that the transfer was carried out smoothly to ensure continuity of critical care.

Hospital staff said the flooding posed a potential risk of electric shock, prompting swift action to evacuate patients and safeguard equipment.

Dr Yadav confirmed that the damaged pipelines have since been repaired and the situation is now under control.

The incident has raised fresh concerns over hospital infrastructure and water safety, coming close on the heels of a major water contamination crisis in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. In that case, at least six people died and hundreds were hospitalised after consuming drinking water contaminated with sewage.

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The Indore outbreak, which began in the Bhagirathpura area in late December, was traced to a major leak in a drinking water pipeline. Officials later found that a toilet constructed above the water mains at a police outpost had allowed sewage to overflow into the pipeline, triggering widespread cases of vomiting and diarrhoea.