Bhopal: As fire broke out at a government hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal on Monday night, four newborns died.
The fire swept through the newborn-care unit of the Kamala Nehru Children’s Hospital. “Four children died in the fire that broke out in the special newborn care unit (SNCU) ward probably due to a short circuit. We reached the spot along with others soon after getting information about the incident. It was dark inside the ward. We shifted the children to the adjacent ward,” State Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang said.
The blaze started in the ward on the third-floor of the hospital, which has the ICU, at around 9 pm and 8-10 fire enginers were rushed to the site, said Fatehgarh Fire Station in-charge Juber Khan.
Visuals from the hospital showed shocked parents breaking down on the stairs after escaping from the ward as the rescue operation started. The other newborns were shifted to different wards
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, condoling the deaths, said the incident was “very sad”.
“We were unable to save three children who were already seriously injured in the fire incident which is very painful. The rescue operation was swift and the blaze is under control, now but unfortunately the lives of three children could not be saved,” Mr Chouhan had tweeted earlier. Another death was reported later.
“A high-level probe into the incident has been ordered. The probe will be conducted by additional chief secretary (ACS) health and medical education, Mohammad Suleiman,” the Chief Minister said in another tweet.
He has announced a compensation of ₹ 4 lakh for the family members of the victims.
Calling the incident as “very painful”, former Chief Minister and Congress leader Kamal Nath demanded “a high-level probe” into the incident and stern action against those responsible for it.
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