On Friday Night in Jhansi’s Maharani Laxmibai Medical College, at least 10 newborn babies died due to burn and suffocation in a devastating fire in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
According to District Magistrate Avinash Kumar, the fire started around 10:45 pm; he also added that the more critical patients were admitted to the NICU, where the fire spread faster.
The suspected reason for the fire breaking out is due to a short circuit in an oxygen concentrator, which led to the engulfment of the oxygen-rich ward and spread rapidly within the neonatal ward.
On Saturday morning, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brijesh Pathak reached Jhansi and said a total number of 49 children were in the ward, where the capacity of the beds was only 18.
Seven babies have been identified, and three remain unidentified, he said. Efforts are made to establish their identities and reach their family members, said Pathak.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences for the death of the children and said that the state government and local administration are making efforts for relief and rescue.
Modi was quoted as saying in a post in Hindi on X by the Prime Minister’s Office, “Heartbreaking! The fire accident at Jhansi Medical College in Uttar Pradesh is heart-wrenching. My deepest condolences to those who lost their innocent children in this. I pray to God to give them the strength to bear this immense loss,” “The local administration, under the supervision of the state government, is making every possible effort for relief and rescue,”.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
