Facing flak over delayed rescue, Health Min blames it on 68-year-old Kottayam MCH building

Kottayam: Hours after a woman was crushed to death following the collapse of a building block at Kottayam Medical College hospital, Health Minister Veena George skirted allegations of delay in response. Speaking to the media, she said she promptly reached the site and coordinated with the fire force personnel, along with Minister Vasavan, to plan the rescue. 

She added that the 68-year-old building had been in a state of decay since 2013, and the tragic accident occurred while efforts were underway to shift patients and equipment to a newly constructed eight-storey building.

“I have asked the District Collector to carry out a detailed inquiry and submit a report soon,” she said.

Veena George, along with Minister and Ettumanoor MLA VN Vasavan, arrived at the accident site shortly after the incident was reported. She noted that rescue workers encountered difficulties in bringing an earthmover to the site.

“A grill and some boards were removed to take the machine for the search operation. There was no delay in initiating the search. Heavy crowding in the hospital posed a challenge for the fire and rescue team to reach the scene,” the minister stated.

"Initially, the mother of the injured child was reported missing. After making announcements, officials confirmed that she was safe. However, directions were given to launch a search to verify whether anyone was trapped under the rubble," said Veena, dismissing the opposition’s allegations of a delay in the search.

"There had been reports about the building's poor condition since 2013. Former Health Minister KK Shailaja and Minister Vasavan made efforts to renovate Kottayam Medical College in 2016. Following this, ₹567 crore was sanctioned by KIIFB for the development of the medical college. Although the funds were sanctioned, the work was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Construction of the new building began in 2021–22. The newly constructed eight-storey building, a new surgical block, has 568 beds, including two ICUs with 21 beds. The tragedy occurred when the government was busy with the final preparations for opening the new block," said the minister.

“ The building that collapsed is a toilet block. The medical college authority has closed it after establishing toilet facilities in other wards.  When we reached the spot, we were also informed that no people were inside the building. We need to wait for the collector’s inquiry report to know how people were allowed into the closed block. We took action to bring an earth mover to the spot after observing the urgency of the situation. We intended to confirm that no person is trapped under the remains of the collapsed building. There was no lapse in launching the search operation," added the minister.

Minister Vasavan who accompanied the Health Minister said that all 360 patients would be shifted to the new block today itself.