A total of 55 infants were being treated at the hospital at the time of the fire
Ten newborn babies are dead after a fire ravaged a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in a hospital.
On Friday, Nov. 15, the fire occurred at the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College Hospital in Jhansi city in India’s Uttar Pradesh state, according to the BBC.
A total of 55 infants were being treated at the hospital, Bimal Kumar Dubey, a local official, told the Associated Press. The dozens of babies that survived are currently receiving medical care, per the outlet, with at least 16 in critical condition, the BBC reported.
According to the AP, which cited eyewitnesses, firefighters began their rescue “about 30 minutes” after the fire began. Initial findings, the outlet said, indicate that errors in safety protocols — such as expired fire extinguishers and fire alarms that were not working — are likely the cause of the incident.
Brajesh Pathak, the deputy chief minister of the state, told the AP that the fire safety systems at the hospital had previously been inspected in February, and a practice drill occurred in June. “The cause of the fire will be probed,” he said, according to The Guardian. “If any lapses are found, strict action will be taken against those responsible and no one will be spared.”
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The BBC reported that three of the 10 babies who were killed in the blaze have yet to be identified.
“When the fire broke out, I couldn’t go inside to rescue my baby. How could I? When no one was able to get inside, how could anyone hand me my baby?” a mother told ANI news agency of her 10-day-old child, per the BBC.
“If the safety alarm had worked, we could have acted sooner and saved more lives,” Naresh Kumar, a parent who lost his baby, said to the AP.
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After the incident, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a message on X, formerly Twitter, calling the deaths “heartbreaking.”
“My deepest condolences to those who have lost their innocent children in this. I pray to God to give them the strength to bear this immense loss,” he wrote, adding of the investigation, which remains ongoing: “The local administration, under the supervision of the state government, is making every possible effort for relief and rescue.”
