PATNA, June 4 -- At least five patients, including a government employee, died when a fire broke out at a private hospital named Prasad Hospital in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district early on Thursday morning, officials confirmed.

The blaze erupted around 3 am on the fifth floor of the hospital in the Brahmpura area, and quickly spread through the intensive care unit (ICU), filling it with dense smoke. The fifth floor houses ICU and some wards.

Muzaffarpur DM Subrata Kumar Sen said that 24 patients were admitted in the ICU. "Five patients have died in the blaze. There are several injured persons, who are undergoing treatment at various hospitals," the DM said.

Prima facie, the fire appears to have resulted from a short circuit, he said, addi...