NEW DELHI: A fire at a government-run hospital in eastern India killed at least 10 critically ill patients who were admitted in the trauma care unit, officials said on Monday.

Building fires are common in India due to a lack of firefighting equipment and a routine disregard for safety regulations.

The fire broke out early Monday on the first floor of the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Odisha state’s Cuttack city, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi told reporters.

“A short circuit caused the fire in the trauma ICU ward where patients were being treated,” he said, adding that 23 patients were present on the floor at the time of the incident.

Ten people died following the blaze, while the remaining patients were moved to other wards, he added.

At least 11 staff members suffered burn injuries as they tried to rescue the patients.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the incident “deeply painful” in a post on social media and offered his condolences to the families of the victims.

He also announced compensation of $2,160 to affected families.

Electrical short circuits, often caused by poorly maintained wiring, remain the leading cause of fire incidents in India.

In 2024, a fire at a private hospital in the southern state of Tamil Nadu killed at least six people and injured more than two dozen.

The same year, 10 newborns were killed when a fire engulfed a hospital in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

• Iran wants “serious review” of Gulf ties, says ambassador to Riyadh.
• Alireza Enayati did not say who had carried out attacks in Kingdom.
• “Iran was only attacking US and Israeli targets and interests.”

RIYADH: Iran’s relations with Gulf states will require a “serious review” in light of the US-Israeli war on Iran, limiting the power of external actors so the region can become prosperous, Tehran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia told Reuters on Sunday.

Asked if he was concerned that relations would be harmed by the war, Ambassador Alireza Enayati said: “It’s a valid question, and the answer may be simple. We are neighbours and we cannot do without each other; we will need a serious review.”

“What the region has witnessed over the past five decades is the result of an exclusionary approach [within the region] and an excessive reliance on external powers,” he said in a written response to questions, calling for deeper ties between the Gulf Cooperation Council’s six members, along with Iraq and Iran.

Gulf Arab states have faced more than 2,000 missile and drone attacks since the outbreak of the war on February 28, with targets including US diplomatic missions and military bases but also critical Gulf oil infrastructure, ports, airports, and hotels.

The United Arab Emirates, which normalised relations with Iran’s arch-foe Israel in 2020, has faced the brunt of the attacks. But all Gulf Arab states have been impacted, and all have condemned Iran.

Behind the scenes, analysts and regional sources say there is also growing frustration at the US, long their security guarantor, at dragging them into a war they did not endorse but for which they are paying a hefty price.

In Saudi Arabia, attacks have been concentrated on the eastern region where most of the kingdom’s oil is produced, as well as the Prince Sultan Airbase hosting US forces east of Riyadh, and the Diplomatic Quarter on the Saudi capital’s western edge, according to Saudi defense ministry statements.

Saudi Arabia and Iran re-established full diplomatic relations in 2023 after years of enmity.

Iran ‘not responsible’ for attacks on Saudi oil sector

Enayati denied that Iran was responsible for the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure, including the Ras Tanura refinery on the east coast and dozens of attempted drone attacks on the Shaybah oil field in the desert near the UAE border.

“Iran is not the party responsible for these attacks, and if Iran had carried them out, it would have announced it,” he said. He did not say who had carried out the attacks.

Saudi Defense Ministry statements have not assigned blame for individual incidents. Enayati said Iran was only attacking US and Israeli targets and interests.

Enayati said he personally was in ongoing contact with Saudi officials, with relations “progressing naturally” in many areas. He highlighted Saudi cooperation regarding the departure of Iranians who were in the kingdom for religious pilgrimage and the provision of medical assistance to others.

He said Tehran was in contact with Riyadh regarding Saudi Arabia’s publicly stated position that its land, sea and air would not be used to attack Iran, without elaborating on the discussions.

His message to Gulf states was that the war “has been imposed on us and the region.”

To resolve the conflict, the US and Israel must halt their attacks and regional countries should not be involved, while international guarantees must be secured to prevent their recurrence, he said.

“Only then can we focus on building a prosperous region,” he said.

US President Donald Trump called on allies over the weekend to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as Iranian forces continue attacks on the vital waterway amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, now in its third week.

Trump said his administration has already contacted seven countries, but declined to identify them. In an earlier social media post, he said that he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others would participate.

Iran has effectively shut the Strait, a narrow passage of water between Iran and Oman, choking off a fifth of global oil supply in the biggest disruption ever.

Below are how some countries have responded to Washington’s call to send ships to the region:

Japan

Japan does not currently plan to dispatch naval vessels to escort ships in the Middle East, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Monday.

“We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are continuing to examine what Japan can do independently and what can be done within the legal framework,” Takaichi told parliament.

Takaichi will travel to Washington this week for talks with Trump that she said will cover the conflict with Iran.

Australia

Australia will not send naval ships to assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a government minister said on Monday.

“We won’t be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz. We know how incredibly important that is, but that’s not something that we’ve been asked or that we’re contributing to,” Catherine King, a member of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s cabinet, said in an interview with state broadcaster ABC.

South Korea

“We will communicate closely with the U.S. regarding this matter and make a decision after careful review,” South Korea’s presidential office said on Sunday.

Under South Korea’s constitution, overseas troop deployments require parliamentary approval, and opposition figures have said any dispatch of warships to the Strait would need consent from the legislature.

Britain

Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed the need to reopen the Strait to end disruption to global shipping with Trump, a Downing Street spokeswoman said on Sunday.

Starmer also spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and they have agreed to continue talks on the Middle East conflict at a meeting on Monday, the spokeswoman added.

EU

EU foreign ministers will on Monday discuss bolstering a small naval mission in the Middle East but they are not expected to discuss expanding its role to include the choked-off Strait, diplomats and officials say.

The EU’s Aspides mission was established in 2024 to protect ships from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebel group in the Red Sea.

Germany

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Sunday that Aspides – named after the Greek word for “shields” — was not even effective in carrying out its current task.

“That ⁠is why I am very sceptical that extending Aspides ​to ​the ⁠Strait of Hormuz would provide ​greater security,” ​he ⁠said in an interview with Germany’s ARD television.