A major fire broke out at a hotel that was being used as a COVID-19 care facility at Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday morning that led to the death of seven patients.

Around 20 people have been rescued from the hotel so far. However, several others are trapped reportedly.

Krishna District Collector Mohammad Imtiaz said, "The incident took place around 5 am. Around 22 patients are being treated in hospital. We are evacuating the entire building. The reason of fire appears to be a short circuit, as per the preliminary report, but we will have to ascertain". In the meantime, the fire has been controlled.

Hotel Swarna Palace was being used by Ramesh hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients. There were 30 COVID patients at the hotel at the time of the accident. "15-20 people have been injured in the incident. They have been rushed to the hospital. 2-3 of them are critical," a senior police officer stated.