Smoke was seen billowing out from the AMRI Hospitals, Dhakuria, early on Thursday, sparking panic in the locality.
The incident, attributed to leakage of helium gas from a medical equipment in the basement, comes 20 days after a massive fire claimed several lives at the hospital.
Locals said they heard a loud noise in the morning, after which smoke was seen. The fire brigade was informed and three fire tenders brought the situation under control.
“Nothing to worry”
“There was an MRI machine in the basement and we suspect that helium leaked from it. There is nothing to worry,” said Debapriya Biswas, Additional Director-General of the West Bengal Fire Services.
Fire fighters, along with technicians, also examined the possibility of any further danger from the MRI equipment.
Mr. Biswas said the hospital was sealed after the December 9 fire and there has been no activity on the premises except for the purpose of the ongoing investigations.
Non-hazardous gas
According to the preliminary report by the fire department, the earlier fire originated from the basement where various inflammable articles were kept.
The hospital management said in an official note that non-hazardous helium gas got released from the MRI machine and it did not pose any threat to those living in the neighbourhood.
A team from the GE Medical System, in charge of the maintenance of the machine, had now deactivated the machine after necessary review.
There is no helium left in the machine now, according to the note.
As per the report prepared by the GE Medical System team, under normal circumstances, an MRI machine should be kept operational in a cool and controlled temperature since it contains helium gas.
However, since the hospital is currently non-operational, it has no power supply.
This led to an automatic expansion and release of the gas, the note said.
