Six people were killed and 20 others injured during a fire in the lift control room of the eight-storey new building of Mymensingh Medical College Hospital on Monday evening.

Five of the deceased were identified as Hazera Begum, 50, of Purbadhala in Netrokona; Shahjahan, 40, Ramzan, 38, and Jahanara, 50, of Fulbaria; and Kulsuma, 35, of Tarakanda upazila in Mymensingh, said Mymensingh Additional Superintendent of Police Md Abdullah Al-Mamun.

The fire broke erupted at around 5:45pm in the lift control room and spread up to the eighth floor, triggering panic among patients, their relatives and hospital staff.

They jostled for rushing down the stairs and evacuate the building, leaving many injured.

Some of the injured later succumbed to their injuries while some others died of panic, hospital sources said, adding that a total of six  people died and 20 others were injured in the incident.

Four firefighting units – three from Mymensingh Sadar and one from Bangladesh Agricultural University – brought the fire under control after about 30 minutes of efforts.

Mymensingh Fire Service and Civil Defence Assistant Director Purna Chandra Mutsuddi said the fire was initially believed to have originated from overheating in the lift control room.

“All the equipment of the lift was burnt,” he said.

Security personnel, police and hospital staff helped evacuate children, women and other patients from the building.

Hospital Deputy Director Zakiul Islam said no ward was damaged by the fire, although water accumulated on the hospital floors created some inconvenience.

Hospital authorities will take necessary steps to investigate the cause of the fire, he said.

Several lifts in the new building remained out of service for about two hours following the incident.

Mymensingh City Corporation Administrator Md Rukunuzzaman Rukon and senior hospital officials visited the spot.