10 Infants Killed In Fire At Uttar Pradesh Hospital; Probe Ordered

A fire that broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmibai Medical College in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi on Friday night claimed the lives of 10 infants, the police said. Following the incident, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said that a multi-level probe will be conducted to identify the culprits while extending the state government’s support to the victim families.

The fire was caused by an electrical short circuit and the newborn children who died were in incubators at the time, as confirmed by ADG Zone Kanpur. There were 47 infants admitted to the ward when the fire broke out, he added.

Jhansi DIG Kalanidhi Naithani, who visited the site in the wake of the incident, informed that all the deceased were infants, and 16 others were injured.

“Between 10:30 and 10:45 pm, a short circuit occurred inside the NICU unit, which led to a fire. The children who were outside the unit were saved. Many of those inside were also rescued, but unfortunately, 10 children have died so far. The rescue operation is ongoing. The fire brigade and rescue team responded immediately, managing to save many children. We are providing medical care to the critically injured. According to the duty staff, the fire was caused by a short circuit,” the Jhansi district magistrate said.

According to hospital authorities, the fire broke out inside the oxygen concentrator and spread quickly due to the room being highly oxygenated. Chief medical superintendent Sachin Mahor told ANI, “There were 54 babies admitted in the NICU ward. Suddenly a fire broke out inside the Oxygen concentrator, efforts to douse the fire were done but since the room was highly oxygenated, the fire spread quickly. Many babies were rescued. 10 babies have died, and injured babies are undergoing treatment.”

Meanwhile, condoling the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed the district administration to speed up the relief work. He wrote on X, “The death of children in an accident that occurred in the NICU of the medical college located in Jhansi district is extremely sad and heartbreaking. The district administration and concerned officials have been instructed to speed up the relief and rescue operations.”

जनपद झांसी स्थित मेडिकल कॉलेज के NICU में घटित एक दुर्घटना में हुई बच्चों की मृत्यु अत्यंत दुःखद एवं हृदयविदारक है।

जिला प्रशासन तथा संबंधित अधिकारियों को युद्ध स्तर पर राहत एवं बचाव कार्यों को संचालित कराने के निर्देश दिए हैं।

प्रभु श्री राम से प्रार्थना है कि दिवंगत आत्माओं…

— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) November 15, 2024

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