PATNA: At least five patients died and several others were injured after a fire broke out in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a private hospital in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district in the early hours of Thursday.The blaze erupted around 4am on the fifth floor of Prasad Hospital, where the ICU is located, rapidly engulfing the area in dense smoke. A total of 27 critically ill patients were admitted to the ICU when the incident occurred.Muzaffarpur district magistrate Subrat Sen said five patients died, while the remaining patients were evacuated and shifted to other hospitals. Three of the patients were referred to Patna for further treatment, he said. Subrat added a team from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) sealed the fifth floor, which houses the ICU and the Critical Care Unit (CCU), as part of the investigation.CM Samrat Choudhary expressed condolences and announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 4 lakh to the family of each deceased patient. “The loss of lives in a fire at a private hospital in Muzaffarpur is extremely tragic… The local administration is fully alert, and appropriate arrangements have been made at the district hospitals for the treatment of the injured,” he said.Officials identified the deceased as four men and one woman. The oldest victim was 76-year-old Krishnandan Prasad Singh, while the youngest was 30-year-old Shashank Kumar.Officials said preliminary findings suggest a short circuit may have triggered the fire. Reports also indicated the short circuit may have occurred in one of the ICU machines and was followed by a blast in an air-conditioning unit. However, officials have not confirmed the exact sequence of events or the precise cause of the blaze.Subrat said a committee has been constituted to investigate the incident and determine responsibility, including whether safety protocols were followed and whether the hospital had adequate fire prevention and emergency response measures in place.An eyewitness account from Radha Devi, a patient in her 90s admitted to the ICU, described a frantic escape. She told the reporters she removed her oxygen support herself and rushed out after noticing the fire.Attendants of other patients alleged negligence by hospital staff, claiming no staff members were present when the incident occurred. Officials said statements of patients, attendants and hospital personnel would be recorded as part of the inquiry.