About 200 patients have been evacuated from the affected area.

The fire broke at about 8 am

Kolkata: Fire at Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, more than 250 patients evacuated

KOLKATA: Hundreds of critical patients -- from elderly to infants -- were evacuated out of the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital wrapped in bedsheets on Wednesday morning after a fire broke out at the ground floor of the hospital's MCH building around 8am.Ten fire tenders rushed to the spot but firemen had trouble reaching the seat of fire at the Department of Pharmacy because of the thick black smoke engulfing the entrance.However, hospital sources said all the patients on the upper floors were brought out, some on stretchers and most by their relatives and hospital staff wrapping the patients in bedsheets and tarpaulin sheets, down the stairs. Some were seen holding catheters and some holding on to the oxygen masks while the rescue operation continued for more than 90 minutes since the fire broke out.While the more critical patients were wheeled into the Emergency department , there were many who were found lying on the road outside the building. Read this story in Bangla "Our ward was filled with smoke and we began choking when the hospital staff and the relatives of some of the patients carried me and other patients down the stairs," said an elderly patient with a heart trouble.The oldest building of the hospital complex was founded in 1848 and restored again in 2000. The building is regarded as an architectural landmark in the city. The building houses the department of General Medicine, department of Cardiology, department of Community Medicine and institute of Haematology and Transfusion Medicine. Each department had hundreds of patients admitted.Firemen and disaster management group personnel brought in smoke extractors and broke through glass windows and doors to gain entry into the building around 9am."The fire broke out around 8am. The ground floor contains a number of inflammable materials like medicines, oxygen cylinders and bandages. Our personnel have gained entry into the building and have located the seat of fire," said Jag Mohan, the director general of fire services.Mayor Sovan Chatterjee also reached the spot to oversee the firefighting process. "All the patients have been safely removed from the building and none have been injured. The firemen have confined the blaze to the groundfloor and hopefully it will be doused in quick time," said Chatterjee.