10 babies are reportedly dead in a fire that engulfed the neonatal unit of an Indian hospital with another 16 clinging to life, as a result of a faulty oxygen machine.
The fire broke out at about 10:30 pm (1700 GMT) on Friday night at the Maharani Lakshmibai Medical College in Jhansi, around 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of the capital New Delhi.
When the firefighters arrived, the ward was engulfed in flames and plumes of smoke. Rescuers had to break through windows to reach the babies.
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.
Babies rescued from the fire, all only days old, were laid side by side on a bed elsewhere in the hospital as hospital staff hooked up their arms to intravenous drips.
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.
“Ten infants have sadly died,” Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak told reporters.
Another 16 infants who were rescued were undergoing medical treatment, police superintendent Gyanendra Kumar Singh said.
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.
“All children rescued are safe and getting medical attention,” Singh told AFP.
“The fire was most likely due to a fire in an oxygen concentrator.”
Pathak said a safety audit of the hospital was carried out in February followed by a fire drill three months later.
“The cause of the fire will be probed,” he added. “If any lapses are found, strict action will be taken against those responsible and no one will be spared.”
Broadcaster NDTV reported that 54 infants were in the neonatal intensive care unit when the fire broke out.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the deaths “heart-wrenching” in a post on social media platform X.
“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.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced a compensation of 500,000 rupees ($5,900) each to the bereaved families.
“The district administration and concerned officials have been instructed to carry out relief and rescue operations on a war footing,” Adityanath wrote on X.
“I pray to Lord Shri Ram to provide salvation to the departed souls and speedy recovery to the injured.”
Friday’s fire comes six months after a similar blaze at a children’s hospital in New Delhi that killed six newborns.
Authorities said that hospital was not properly licensed and lacked proper fire exits, and police arrested a doctor and the facility’s owner in the aftermath.
The May blaze occurred just hours after at least 27 people were killed, including several children, when a fire broke out at a packed amusement park arcade in another part of the country.
The Indian Express newspaper reported that a nurse, identified only as Meghna, suffered burn injuries to her leg after attempting to save the newborns and extinguish the flames.
District official Avinash Kumar told The Hindustan Times newspaper that the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit in the unit.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced compensation equivalent to $5,900 to each bereaved family.
The cause of the fire was being investigated, but police said it was most likely caused by a faulty oxygen concentrator.