Bhubaneswar, Oct. 17: At least 14 people were killed and 40 injured when a major fire broke out at the first-floor ICU of the Institute of Medical Sciences and Sum Hospital this evening.

Attendants of the patients in the ICU were the first to notice the fire that later spread to the nearby wards and other floors of the 1,200-bed hospital.

Jyoti Ranjan Das, an eyewitness whose father was in the affected ICU, said: "I don't know of my father's fate. But I could do nothing to rescue him as I was on the second floor. As soon as I saw the flames, I jumped from the second floor along with three other staff members of the hospital by breaking the glass pane of the window."

Another witness said there was panic all around. "When I heard an announcement about the fire on the public address system, I was terrified. But I got over my fear and successfully evacuated my parents from the hospital with the help of some staff members," he said. He said he had no idea how many had been affected.

Unconfirmed sources put the toll at 22 saying it might go up further. The state government has ordered an inquiry into the fire, one of the worst in a hospital in the state in recent memory.

Khurda collector Niranjan Sahu, who visited the hospital, confirmed 14 deaths saying all steps were being taken to save lives. Sources said that while one of the deceased was asphyxiated by the smoke billowing from the ICU, others died after being shifted to various hospitals in the city. The injured were moved to government-run and private hospitals in the city in 13 ambulances. The injured were shifted from the first-floor ICU in the dialysis wing of the nephrology department of the hospital where the fire broke out following an alleged short circuit around 7.40pm.

Seven fire brigade vehicles were fighting the flames till the time of reporting. Rescue operations aided by fire personnel were in full swing with ladders and ropes being used to reach the badly damaged ICU where people panicked when they saw the flames.

Hospital administrator Basanta Kumar Pati said: "There was a major fire. But it is now under control. All the patients have been evacuated. There is no longer any danger to anyone."

Director general of police, fire services, Binay Behera said his men were doing their best to bring the situation under control. "We have deployed all our manpower and machinery to douse the flames. However at this moment, it is not possible to give an exact picture," he said.

Sources said rescue operations were hampered because of the initial panic of the people and the huge crowd that gathered near the hospital. Though police commissioner Y.B. Khurania, along with his men, tried his best to maintain order, it took some time for the fire personnel and rescue workers to reach the affected areas of the hospital.

This was the second incident of a fire in a hospital in the state in the past five months. In May 31, a fire broke out in the cardiology ward of the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. In that incident, 60 patients had been evacuated from the ward.