Two nurses from Kottayam died in the Kolkata hospital fire while trying to save patients.
Even as the Kolkata hospital fire news was flashed by the visual media, Kottayam district of Kerala, home to one of the largest numbers of paramedical personnel, mostly nurses, was caught in a grip of anxiety. Soon it came to light that two of the three hospital staff who died in the fire belonged to the district.
Valiant battle
P.K. Vineetha and Remya Rajan died after fighting a valiant battle to save patients. According to the hospital authorities, both worked in the female general ward. “There were nine patients in the ward and they could save eight of them. Both the girls had gone up to save the ninth patient, who had suffered a fracture, but succumbed to smoke and heat. Only one patient died in the ward,” said Deputy Nursing Superintendent Sumini over telephone.
Early in the morning, Remya had told her mother Usha over phone that the building was on fire. She was not clear whether she would be able to escape. She disconnected the call in haste as she had to join the rescue operations.
Usha stayed alone in her house at Uzhavoor. Rajappan, her husband and a daily wage earner, died nearly five years ago. She admitted Remya in a nursing course in a private college in Andhra Pradesh with the help of a bank loan. Remya passed out last year and was urgently in need of a job as she had to repay the loan. She got the job at the AMRI Hospitals in Kolkata a few months ago.
Remya's brother Renjith had got a job in Dubai two years ago.
The news of Vineetha's death came as a severe jolt to her family that had rejoiced over the first savings she had sent from her salary last month. She had joined the hospital only two months ago after completing general nursing from a private nursing college in Andhra Pradesh.
Addition of a new earning member to the family had brought relief to her father Kunjumon and mother Mary of Pulickal family at Kothanallore, near here. Both are daily wage labourers. Their younger daughter is a nursing student at a private college at Changanassery.
Keywords: Kolkata hospital fire, AMRI hospital
ANGELS REMYA and VINEETHA: There are no words to describe your sacrifice in doing your duties as nurses at AMRI in a situation and circumstance which no one on earth could imagine any time, by all human beings around the world. May the Almighty give your parent and relatives the courage and conviction to face life without any depression of any kind. All in India are honoured to be called human beings because of your sacrifice at a time as of today with so much self-centered thinking going on. Only time will show the world how India will honour you (two) for your sacrifices. We all pray for your souls to rest in peace forever.
Sometimes God takes away his angels a bit too soon.....
I suggest that these girls photographs be kept at all Colleges and institutions of Nursing with details beneath the photos to inspire students for care of patients.These girls have done outstanding service to humanity by their acts and may God give comfort to their family.
very very sad... This Hospital Authorities should pay enough compensation to their family.
To THE UNSUNG HEROES, May God bless their ( Ms. Vineetha and Ms.Remya )
souls and condolences to their families. Who should responsible for this
tragedy? Is it a Government of India or AMRI Hospital or Kolkata Mayor?.
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Both these noble souls should be honored by giving highest india"s
civilian awards ,then only these awards will get some respect.May their
souls rest in peace.
Words are not enough to express our sympathy to these two young girls
who lost their lives.May god bless them.
My heart goes out for these two who have given up their life to save others lives. What an act of sacrifice.This is christianity. Iam sure and hope their sacrifice will not go unhonoured
Great to know that they gave lives to 8 people at the cost of their know. This is Godliness personified.
Greatest Sacrifice. I will keep this in my mind.
RIP. May God bless their souls and their families
From here on I think it will be more apt for me to say that i am from the land of Ms. Vineetha and Ms.Remya rather than from Swami Vivekananda or Raja Ravi Verma - Oridinary people doing extraordinary things when situation warrants; even if it involves sacrificing their own lives.
Whole nations with u and yr family. Praying to GOD. will meet in Heaven
These girls who are angels of India that Mohandas Gandhi and other progressive leaders dreamt about Indians who should be passionate, value others lives, moral, ethical and peace loving.
These girls made India proud and it is eye opener to the Indian Congress party politicians who are greedy, corrupt and responsible for alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka.
May God bless their soul. The government should do the best to support their families, thats the least we can do now. I had seen in tv reports their houses.. (made of mud).. they come from very poor families and were the only hope of their family. Its a shame that nurses are not paid well though they do more service to the ailign and sick than the doctors themself.
Let us demonstrate that we truly care! These two dedicated souls came
to Bengal to serve and make a living. A Fund should be established to
support the two poor families with contributions coming from all of us!
I would urge our compassionate Chief Minister to establish a fund
immediately for public contribution. It will be a signal honour for me
to contribute.
Salute to the love and sacrifice of dear sisters Vineetha & Remya.
This sets an example for the politicians who run after their own
interests.
The Govt must atleast repay the loan outstanding in the name of
Sister Remya.
Sheer heroism in the face of death. One's head truly bows before these young women who made the highest sacrifice to save human lives. It is now the duty of the nation to care for their dependents, at least.
But, this time the culprits shouldn't get away.
AMRI authorities must realise the sacrifice and must do financial favour to their beloved families. They were in the starting point of life. As of financial commitments they are forced to work far from her home and west bengal govnt must show the kindness to do financial aids and other supports.
No words could describe the duty-conscious,selfless and dedicated service the two sisters rendered at the cost of their own lives. It is good that THE HINDU gave importance to this news- at a time when the whole country is wallowing in total loss of moral values. Salute you Sisters with tears in my eyes.
Whole Nation proud of them, Indian Govt should give a Special national Award to them, How many of these people we can see now a days especially politicians making scams..They Inspired whole nation. Feel proud being Indians. Condolences to their families and they got whole nation's support.Give Nations highest Awards to them. Salute to Two Brave sisters
I feel proud to have taken birth from the same state as Ramya and Vineetha.
this is the real sacrifice a person can do
These nurses must be awarded bravery awards and their families adequately compensated for the losses. The solidarity of all people here expressing condolences and compassion is touching.. we are all one despite our disputes..
Late Vineetha & Ramya died a life of true martyr,and whole of India salutes them.Long Live
Nurses never get their due in India. This is a profession that is looked down upon. Other than the poorer families in Kerala and some other parts of the country, nobody will send their educated daughters into this profession. They get paid a fraction of what they deserve. The IT professional works only indirectly for society, but since his/ her work is compared to that in the West, they get paid good salaries compared to others in India. On the other hand, nurses are paid pathetically low salaries compared to their counterparts in the West, and probably lowest amongst professionals in India. They get shouted at by the doctors and the patients' relatives. Yet they endure, and two of them are being recognized by this article for their selfless service. Why should it surprise anyone if the others did not respond? These were two fresh graduates. Maybe over time, they become hardened and just like other people, who want free medical services, good salaries, low taxes, and honest politicians
May God bless these 2 nurses and their families! May their soul rest in peace. Can we identify all these people, give them awards (Param Veer medals)from India Government and also ensure that their families get financial benefits immediately.
MS P.K.Vineetha and Remya rajan, you will live in peoples heart for ever. People like you never die as long as humanity and compassion is alive.
This is the bravest and selfless act any human can do. Hats off to both of you!! Let god be with you and family.
I salute you, dear brave sisters. The government nursing colleges should be named after them.
Salute to the noble souls. Though so sad, it also makes one proud to be an Indian knowing that such beutiful souls existed amidst all the dirt and crimes in our society. Sad again that it took such a tragedy for these noble souls to be identified for what they are. Hats off to those brave girls, shame on all of us lest we let such valiant acts go undernoticed.
RIP,the brave, up-righteous, committed, humane Nightingales in this stern age to sacrifice their precious lives for saving 8 other vulnerable suffering humans;my Heart is stunned and I`m in tears and as a member of a medical Fraternity I do feel ashamed on the irresponsibility of the consultants,residents and other hospital staff who fled the scene as the drivers do in bus accidents!!! I sincerely salute SR,RYMYA RAJAN& PK VINEETHA from Kottayam and pray the Almighty to give their parents, near and dear strength to tread past this terrible tragedy;the central and state governments & their employer should compensate the bereaving families suitably and A NATIONAL AWARD FOR HUMANE AND VAL OUR POSTHUMOUSLY on this courageous deed done by TWO sisters, must be considered by the Govt of India!
Salute to my young sisters...
My salute to them. People like them keep alive that still there is humanity.
Great people are hard to find and when we come to know, there's hardly
anytime. But we should remember Remya as an extraordinary soul with a
beautiful heart, May she Rests In Peace.
thanks to the hindu for publishing this news....I have nothing but tears in my eyes and respect in my mind for my belowed sisters who sacrificed their lives and did their job till the last breath...I feel proud that majority of my cousins are doing this noble proffession ...Let P K Vineetha and Remy Rajan ,the true heroes in all its meaning,rest in peace.
This is the greatest example of dedication to the profession. Everyone of us would have felt great if they were able to survive along with the 9th patient. They are noble souls and may they rest in Peace.
My heart weeps. My eyes sheds tears. We are really very proud of You. Amma bless their souls to rest in peace. Pray for peace for their family members.
you are the real heros...hatsoff to u both...rest in peace sisters...
May their souls rest in peace! Is there a website or a fund setup to raise money to
support their families? I would gladly donate some funds for this cause. That's the
least we could all do to help the families of these great souls!!!
Hats-off to your noble service.
"REST IN PEACE SR.RYMYA RAJAN AND P.K.VINEETHA"I'm sure that you both are in the palm of GOD,As you are sacrificing yourself for saving 8 patients,I'm praying for your everlasting peace in heaven.And God will continue to consoled especially their parents and all the family members who really experience a great lost in their family.
A big salute my dear sisters...May your soul rest in peace
P K Vineeta and Remya Rajan, who put their life in danger and saved almost all who were in their care is simply breath taking. I salute for their duty consciousness, their compassion and incredible bravery. I pray that their souls rest in peace and share the grief with her immediate families. In their bereavement let them feel proud of being relatives of the brave ones.
The manner in which they answered the call of duty make us proud. It
goes some way in erasing the shame the country has earned on account of
their employers whose irresponsibility allowed this to happen.
The government must do something significant and relevant to honour the
memory of these brave nurses while at the same time bringing the guilty
to book.
The world is very proud of these girls who sacrificed their lives while saving lives. Unbelievable scarifice, girls are real Bravos!
The Hindu should start a fundraising and give it to their grieving families.
When doctors and other senior professionals fled the scene,the two nursing sisters from Kerala sacrificed themselves to save patients left in their care. Two noble souls. Let God grant them eternal peace.
Dear Sisters...Whole National salutes you...
They sacrificed their lives for saving the patients lives…Great Commitment…
Doctors are always keen in collecting the gifts & packages through medical representatives.
Brave action indeed at the time of distress. May your soul rest in
peace.
Unbeatable Keralites! Outstanding work ethics. That is the reason they are successful. May God give patience to these girls' families. Those responsible for the tragedy should be punished.
Instead of passing a resolution for building a Dam at Mullaperiyar and shedding crocodile tears for the people living down under the dam site the Kerala Legislative Assembly should have paid rich tribute to these girls whose commitment to humanity and the suffering people are genuine.
We know for sure that the Govt and the Opposition do not want the Dam issue solved.Damn You
Please let me know how to help their families ..???? i may not be able to send a huge amount but i would feel privilidged to help the parents who gave birth to such brave daughters
Hats off to these Nightingales.It adds to our misery when we get a glimpse of their modest homes in Kerala.How committed these girls were to their profession.Shame on you MPs who accept money for asking questions.Shame on some well paid doctors who are nothing but criminals minting money compromising all medical ethics.Shame on 2G, Commonwealth scamsters.If Pawars can still keep their portfolios even after getting slapped in public and if the Kanimozhis and Rajas can get rousing receptions when they come out on parol,what are we going to offer to these departed souls.
The banks do not give educational loans easily for Diploma in Nursing students. The nursing students have to borrow from private lenders at exorbitant interest rates. The doctors pay these nurses the lowest salaries but extract twelve hours attendance at duty in shifts. The Indian nurses are in demand at hospitals in Gulf countries. Service motive is very much there in Indian nurses and the news item confirms it.
Salute and respect to you dear sisters.Rest in Peace. God bless.
Martyrs. Great Souls. RIP.
Very nobel act ! RIP
Perhapse the first time in Indian Medical Profession an oath taken while swearing in has been observed both in letter and spirit.......the life of these two sisters should be an eye opener to the doctores whose lethargic attitde which claims precious lives in our hopitals in the name of say protest....pay hike...go slow......deserving rights...parity..for not seeing them personally..for not allowing private practice...protocles..(With ardent respect to the few doctores who will not fall in this category )and what not..
Let the Almighty rest their soul in peace.
With Prayers,
It given pain to anyone coming to know this. Being an Indian is to suffer this sort of corporate/Govt. greeds and misdeeds.
My tears goes to these beautiful souls of this corrupt country.
Let peace come back to their grieving family.
Had these nurses used portable oxygen mask kits in heavy smokey (CO)environment, the nation would not have lost these young nurses who have saved many lives.OH God! Don't ever do such things to your own siblings!
Is this what Nightingale taught u? Is this how u imbibed her lessons? Is this the way u taught us there's still some humanity left in this world? Were Florence alive, she'd no doubt revel in having two such sisters as could emulate her spirit to the letter. Kudos P. K. Vineetha and Remya Rajan.
It was great effort from nurses,but we missed them..may god bless
I respect the 2 lady who gave their life for others life.Govt. should help their families.
They should be given highest civilian award for their valour and sacrifice. Please do not label them 'Keralite', 'Malayali' etc. They are living angels of God. They did their bit and now they are with the God, awaiting their new assignment.
I salute..May her soul stay in heaven peacefuly....
These two people are a symbol of highest values of young India in terms of commitment and self-sacrifice. They deserve to be recognized for their bravery posthumously.My condolences to their families. May their souls rest in peace!
We are proud off you......... really humanity. Govt. Open your eyes.you
two not died still in our Heart
We call them SISTERS but they behaved more like MOTHERS. The parents are at irrecoverable loss but can surely feel proud.I would suggest that Our Government should treat their death as one of our Soldiers and compensate their families at par with our Soldiers.
The girls have truly upheld the name dignity of the profession and have shown how even at the cost of their own lives they saved others.The fact that Hindu carried this news is commendable, since another national daily carried a news item of how a nurse escaped inspite of the patient clinging on to her to save him. When such brave acts have been done by nurses, this is what needs to be pointed out. Another notable thing is that senior doctors of the hospital did not turn up and some even tunred off their mobiles. The background of a person has some bearing on the concern he/she would show to others, since these girls came from not well off families, they still had that human concern towards others as they had towards their own families. Government should reward them, as someone stated rather than honouring the people who play cricket all year through for their own good.
These are the heroes of our country.I salute all the malayalee nurses doing selfless services all over the world.
Both sacrified their lives for the sake of others and truly in a professional way.Others must lern from them "true service".
May their soul rest in Peace!
I pay homage to the.
Dear " GIRLS "
We Salute your Bravery.
We appreciate your sicerte efforts.
You were the Bread winners for your family and the GOVERMENT should come forward and give JOB opportunities for your family members.
You have become a ROLE MODEL for the younger generation.
We pray to GOD to assist and EMBRACE your family at this difficult TIME.
tribute to them...and great salute with bendind my feet to them....gob bless those girls and may thier soul rest in peace.....
This act was not less than anything......those girls gave them new life....hat's off to them
I am proud of you my sisters!!! We all are there to help your family....Rest In Peace...........
BRAVE ACT.Our Salutes and respects to them. Govt. should help their families who are in distress and grief.
We revel in imitating the west: cereals, nikes, backberry, pizza and more - but why have we not imported their other habits? Like, a building inspector in western world who never have allowed building with code violations (a fire like this would be prevented). And in the off chance it happenes, no hospital staff would have let their patient's suffer while they escape, firemen would have arrived quickly as the other road users would have followed laws and allowed way for the fire truck. Alas, India imports everything that is glitter and glamor. Lately, we have also forgotten how to be human!
My condolence to the family of Remya Rajan . She must be the angel-in-disguise for he eight patients that she helped. She will be always in at all our hearts and loved by god. May God bless her family.
Whole medical fraternity salutes you . We condole with the family members .
May God help them to bear with this loss .
My heartly condolence..I salute her ..... Pray for her
These are the people who should be awarded the Bharath Ratna - not some over-paid cricketer - INDIA!! WAKE UP!!
Brave Girls, I SALUTE YOU.......
RIP Ramya and Vineetha! Kudos for your effort to save others lives
and giving up yours in the end!
Lest we forget these bravehearts !
Sad to hear the deaths of P.K. Vineetha and Remya Rajan, who died saving the patients. They carried out their job bravely and professionally. I just hope their parents are told how brave their daughters were and compensate them. lso it is important to bring those responsible to justice, no matter how rich they are or how influential they are.
Tell us how we can help Remya's and Vineetha's families who have lost their precious daughters. If they are suffering financially (daily wage earners) I'd be willingly to donate some funds. Thank you.
my earnest respect to you two
Every word of Praise would be insufficient for these two altruistic and valiant Nurses.I salute P.K. Vineetha and Remya Rajan for their Heroic effort and pray may their soul Rest in Peace and give immense strength to the bereaved ones.
God bless these young souls! Can't help my tears!
Hats-off to your noble service. Your soul will rest in peace.
Utterly tragic. Deepest condolences...may all the departed rest in peace
with honor and we all wish strength to the close ones.
Rest in peace, P.K. Vineetha and Remya Rajan! You are one of a kind, an embodiment of the concept of humanity. It is not everyday that we get to hear such acts of sacrifices on such an immense scale. After all, you saved eight lives and tried to save the ninth one too at the expense of your lives. I request the authorities to make sure that their family members get due reward even though their lives or the others lost in the fire accident cannot be regained. I also wish to highlight this part of the news report: "Her mother Usha admitted Remya in a nursing course in a private college in Andhra Pradesh with the help of a bank loan. Remya passed out last year and was urgently in need of a job as she had to repay the loan." This is not the proper way to treat nurses. Nursing is a very noble profession and those practicing this profession should be respected with adequate pay. Fees should be minimal if not zero.It's high time for proper safety measures in at least hospitals, schools etc
She saved 8 people but lost her own life!! If at all God exists, he exists in the form of people like Remya!!
Great souls!
RIP.
May your souls rest in peace. I salute you - martyrs.
She proved herself as life saver, as she studied .She was a real hero.
What a sacrifice, in the begining of their career they sacrificed their lives for saving the patients. You cannot describe this in words. My condolences to their family, they are like war heroes. Their sacrifice brought tears to my eyes.
May their soul rest in peace. We will never forget your sacrifice for
the country.
Great commitment to the job and very humane and selfless act. God be with their family.
Just hats off. Our prayers. In any hospital at any moment of crisis it is the nursing staff who respond first and continue to extend their services sincerely until the last minute. They do it with a humane touch. They are a clan of blessed professionals. In this particular case it's a shame on the hospital authorities, Doctors and administrators to run away like cowards. Had these two nurses got some support they would have saved the 9th life also and they both would have been alive today. It is my humble request to the whole of medical fraternity to respect Nurses. The backbone of India's health is an able nurse. Government should concentrate on establishing more nursing colleges and providing quality education and skills. It is a matter of concern the nurses are made to work as bonded staff for a very small salary for 2-3 yrs of completion of their education failing which their certificates are withheld. The Central Government should look into this matter very seriously.
heartfelt condolences to these angels' families.
Girls & Boys from Kerala are hardworking. They have wonderful work ethics & unity. They work hard for a very little money with all honesty and travel any lengths to work. My deepest sympathies to their families.
Is it just plain ignorance that hospital authorities did not have good fire safety procedures? I don't know how can we make our buildings fire safe! It's not rocket science!
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