At least 16 children are battling for their lives while 10 newborns d!£d after a massive fire, caused by a short circuit, broke out in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College around 10:45 pm on Friday, Nov. 15.
Expired fire extinguishers and a faulty alarm system were found after the fire incident at the hospital in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, revealing severe safety lapses.
Had the fire extinguishers been functional, the 10 newborns who died in the NICU of the hospital in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, could potentially have been saved, said the families of the victims.
Sources claimed that even the fire safety alarms did not go off at the time of the fire tragedy, delaying evacuation at Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College.
There were 18 beds in the infant ward, most of them comprising six children each, said Kripal Singh Rajput, who visited the hospital on Friday night to see his grandson undergoing treatment at the hospital.
The fire erupted suddenly when he entered the premises, prompting him to rescue the stranded children. In a courageous act, he saved 25 newborns.
Videos from the scene showed panic-stricken patients and their caretakers, with a large number of police personnel assisting in the rescue and relief efforts.
Confirming the cause of the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, “The fire broke out due to a short circuit. Health Minister and state Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak reached there at night. 10 children had died there. The rest of the children are safe.”
A senior police official informed that 16 children who suffered injuries during the incident are being given treatment at a local hospital and efforts have been stepped up to save them.
“All doctors are available for them, along with adequate medical facilities,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jhansi Sudha Singh.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who ordered a high-level probe into the incident and sought a report by Saturday evening, announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased children and Rs 50,000 each for the injured.
His deputy, Brajesh Pathak, also inspected Jhansi Medical College on Saturday morning and ordered a probe into the incident. He said action would be taken against those found guilty of negligence.
“A high-level inquiry will be conducted into this incident and if any negligence is found at any level, action will be taken against it,” he said in an X post.