Dhaka, March 18 -- They alleged that the patients 'suffocated to death due to the smoke as they were not rushed out' after fire broke out in the ICU.

Hospital authorities, on the other hand, said the victims were already in critical condition. But they did not suffocate to death as they were on ventilator support.

The fire was brought under control at about 9:30am after the COVID ward ICU on the second floor of the hospital's new building burst into flames around 8am on Wednesday.

The ward's 14 intensive care units housed as many patients. They were shifted to the ICU and burns section's high dependency unit of the old building. However, three of the patients - identified as Kazi Golam Mostafa, 66, Abdullah Al Mahmud, 48, and Kishore C...