Hospital fire claims 10 newborns in India

New Delhi, Nov 16 (EFE).- At least 10 babies were killed and 16 suffered burn injuries after a devastating fire broke out in the newborn intensive care unit of an Indian hospital, officials said on Saturday.

District Magistrate Avinash Kumar told reporters that the fire erupted around 10.30 pm Friday, prompting a swift evacuation by rescuers, who managed to rescue 44 of the 54 babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College Hospital in Jhansi, in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Preliminary investigations suggest the fire may have been triggered by a short circuit in an oxygen concentrator within the NICU, Kumar said.

The 16 injured infants are receiving treatment at local hospitals, Jhansi Police Superintendent Sudha Singh said.

India’s President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the tragedy, extending condolences to the families of the deceased and assuring every possible effort to prevent further loss of life.

“Heartbreaking,” Modi wrote on X. “The fire accident…is heart wrenching. My deepest condolences to those who have lost their innocent children in this. The local administration, under the supervision of the state government, is making every possible effort for relief and rescue.”

TV footage captured scenes of chaos outside the hospital, showing panic-stricken patients and caretakers as they stood amid the aftermath of the tragedy.

The hospital floor was littered with charred medical equipment, a stark reminder of the fire’s devastation.

Media reports indicated that fire alarms at the hospital failed to activate during the incident, with unnamed sources attributing this to poor maintenance of the facility’s emergency systems.

Fires and other tragedies remain frequent in India, often linked to inadequate infrastructure and maintenance. In May, a similar fire in a New Delhi children’s hospital claimed the lives of seven babies. EFE

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