Chennai, July 23 (IANS) Two women were killed when a fire broke out in a hospital here Saturday morning, an official said.


Fire officials suspect that a short circuit caused the fire at Kilpauk Medical Hospital.
The victims were identified as Tamil Selvi, 45, and Krishna Bai, 72, R. Sukumar, medical superintendent of the hospital, told IANS.

"Around 5 a.m. smoke was noticed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)," Sukumar said.

While fire tenders were called for, the hospital personnel started wheeling out patients of the ICU, Sukumar said.

The smoke was thick and the visibility was near zero. The exact cause of the deaths is not known, Sukumar said.

Sukumar said the hospital has constituted a special team of doctors to take care of the rest of the ICU patients.