Ten newborns killed in north India hospital fire

The babies died from burns and suffocation after a blaze swept through a neonatal intensive care unit in Jhansi.

A fire ripped through the neonatal unit of a hospital in northern India, killing 10 newborns and injuring 17, the authorities said.

Emergency responders rescued 38 newborns from the ward, which housed 49 infants at the time of the incident, said Uttar Pradesh state’s Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Saturday.

The fire broke out at 10:30pm (17:00 GMT) on Friday at the Maharani Lakshmibai Medical College in Jhansi, about 450km (280 miles) south of the national capital, New Delhi.

“Seventeen of the injured are receiving treatment in different wings and some private hospitals,” Pathak told reporters in Jhansi.

The newborns died from burns and suffocation. Seven of the dead infants have been identified, while efforts were on to identify the remaining three, Pathak said.

The cause of the fire was being investigated, but police said it was most likely caused by a faulty oxygen concentrator.

Footage from the scene posted on social media showed charred beds and walls inside the ward as anguished families waited outside.

The rescued babies, all only days old, were laid side by side on a bed elsewhere in the hospital as staff hooked them up to intravenous drips.

One infant remains missing, a government official, who asked not to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to media, told the Reuters news agency.

Pathak said a safety audit of the hospital was carried out in February, followed by a fire drill three months later.

“If any lapses are found, strict action will be taken against those responsible and no one will be spared,” he said.

District official Avinash Kumar told The Hindustan Times newspaper that the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit in the unit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the deaths “heart-wrenching” in a post on social media.

“My deepest condolences to those who lost their innocent children in this,” Modi wrote. “I pray to God to give them the strength to bear this immense loss.”

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced compensation equivalent to $5,900 to the bereaved families.

Building fires are common in India due to shoddy construction and a routine disregard for safety regulations. Six months back, a similar blaze at a children’s hospital in New Delhi killed seven newborns.

Last October, a huge explosion involving fireworks left dozens of people injured in the state of Kerala.