Eight patients were killed after a fire broke out at a private COVID-19 designated hospital in Ahmedabad on Thursday. The eight patients who died were admitted in the ICU ward of the hospital, fire officials said.

The fire was reported at the Shrey Hospital in Navrangpura area of Ahmedabad at around 3:30am on Thursday. The blaze was reportedly caused by an electrical short-circuit.

The victims include five men and three women. Around 35 patients at the facility were rescued and moved to a civic hospital in the city.”Eight coronavirus patients admitted in the ICU ward of Shrey Hospital have died due to the fire, which has been doused,” an official of the Ahmedabad Fire Department told PTI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the deaths and said that the administration is providing all possible assistance. Modi has also spoken to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and city mayor Bijal Patel regarding the situation.