At least 10 newborns have died in a fire at a hospital in northern India after a fire broke out in the neonatal ward.
Hospital workers in the city of Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh state were able to break in and rescue 44 children, but at least 16 are in critical condition, authorities said.
The fire that broke out on Friday night at the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College Hospital is blamed on an electrical fault.
Pictures from the scene showed distraught parents outside the hospital.
Indian media reported that the fire started in the intensive care unit of the children's ward at around 22:30 local time (17:00 GMT).
Local officials believe that an electrical short circuit or other fault in the machine used to increase the oxygen level in the ward caused the fire.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a message online calling the death “heartbreaking”.
“I sympathize with those who lost their innocent children in this. I ask God to give them the strength to endure this great loss,” he wrote.
Uttar Pradesh state government officials told reporters on Saturday that three bodies were yet to be identified.
Deputy minister of state Brajesh Pathak said a security review of the government hospital was carried out in February, and a fire inspection as recently as June.
Government officials have announced compensation of 500,000 rupees (£4,600; $5,900) to bereaved families.
This is the second major hospital fire in India in six months in which newborns have died. In May, six children were killed in a fire at a private nursery in Delhi.
Source link
