Maharashtra: Ten newborn babies die in Bhandara hospital fire

Picture used for representational purpose only

Ten newborn babies died after fire broke out in the Special Newborn Care Unit of a hospital in Maharashtra in the wee hours on Saturday, doctors said.

The infants were aged between a month and three months, a doctor said.

District civil surgeon Pramod Khandate said fire broke out at the Bhandara district hospital at around 1.30 am. There were 17 babies in the unit and seven were rescued, he added. A nurse first noticed smoke coming out from the neonatal section of the hospital and alerted doctors and other staff who reached there in five minutes, he said. Fire brigade personnel rescued seven babies from the ''inbound ward'' of the unit but could not save the 10 other babies, he said.

Khandate said the ward where newborn babies are kept requires a continuous supply of oxygen. "There were fire extinguishers and staff used them while trying to douse the fire. There was too much smoke," he added.

According to local resident Chetan Bahiram, "Around 2 am, the on-duty nurse detected smoke and alerted the superiors. The fire led to thick smoke, which spread in the ward in which the 10 infants were admitted for treatment, whereas seven infants were in the neo natal care area which is adjacent to main children ward."

Parents of the deceased children have been informed and the seven newborn babies rescued in the blaze have been shifted to another ward, he said. Patients from the ICU ward, dialysis wing and labour ward (a room in a hospital set aside for childbirth) were also shifted to otherwards safely, he added.

The cause of the fire in the four-storeyed building is yet to be ascertained but could have been the result of an electrical short circuit, he said.

Ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakhs each to be provided to the kin of the deceased in the fire incident at Bhandara District General Hospital, Health Minister Rajesh Tope said. He said that at least three of the ten infants died of burn injuries while seven others died of suffocation caused by smoke. Tope further added that a probe is ordered and the guilty will not be spared.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray expressed grief over Bhandara hospial fire incident. Thackeray spoke to Health Minister Rajesh Tope as well as district collector and superintendent of police of Bhandara district, and ordered a probe in the matter.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the fire incident at Bhandara District General Hospital in Maharashtra. "My thoughts are with all the bereaved families," PM Modi said in a tweet. President Ram Nath Kovind said that he was deeply saddened by the death of infants in the Bhandara hospital fire as he conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the affected families.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also condoled the death of newborn babies in the Maharashtra hospital fire and appealed to the state government to provide all possible assistance to the families of the deceased and the injured.

Former chief minister of Maharashtra and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis termed the death of ten newborn babies in the Bhandara district hospital fire as a "very painful" incident. "The government should carry out a thorough inquiry into the incident and initiate action against those who are responsible for the death of 10 infants. It is a very painful accident," Fadnavis said in a statement.

Conveying his deepest condolences to the families of the innocent children who lost their lives in the Bhandara hospital fire, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari said that he was extremely saddened to know about the most tragic incident.

Deputy CM and NCP leader Ajit Pawar has ordered an audit of all hospitals on an urgent basis following the fire incident at Bhandara District General Hospital that claimed the lives of 10 innocent children.

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