An early morning fire at the critical care unit of the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital led to a patient’s death on Friday and the closure of the CCU in the region’s largest government referral hospital.

Doctors, paramedics and other staff had managed to get all the 10 patients out of the CCU as soon as fire and smoke had been detected, hospital sources said. But Sabera Khatun, 50, died of the suspected impact of suffocation on her already critical condition.

Two fire engines took an hour to douse the flames, which took a toll on the equipment in the CCU, prompting its closure. The nine surviving patients have been shifted to a nearby private nursing home, with the hospital authorities promising to foot their bill and help with medicines and staff.

The medical college and hospital, located on Siliguri’s outskirts, now has only a two-bed critical care unit functioning in its gynaecological department.

“We have informed all north Bengal districts and told health officials they should refer critical patients to other places as we have only two (critical care) beds now,” a hospital official said.

Sources said the doctors and paramedics on duty had spotted the fire in one of the ventilating machines inside the CCU around 5.30am.

“The fire was seen in the ventilation machine for Bed No. 3. There was thick smoke inside the ward,” hospital superintendent Koushik Samajdar said. “All the patients were immediately shifted out, and later admitted to a private nursing home. Unfortunately, one of them died just after being shifted out of the CCU.”

Khatun, a resident of Ruia in Islampur subdivision, North Dinajpur district, was suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis with renal failure and sepsis. She had been in the CCU for the past 10 days, hospital sources said. A 10-member probe panel has been formed.

Sandip Sengupta, dean of students’ affairs at the medical college, said the hospital would bear all the expenses of the nine patients now admitted to the private nursing home.