Four newborn babies died on Monday night in a fire at a government hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal city, NDTV reported.
The blaze erupted at the newborn care unit of the Kamala Nehru Children’s Hospital, which is located in the premises of the government-run Hamidia Hospital.
Juber Khan, the head of the Fatehgarh Fire Station, said that the fire began on the third floor of the hospital, where the intensive care unit is located, around 9 pm.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that he was saddened to hear about the fire, but added that rescue efforts were carried out swiftly. He announced a high-level investigation into the incident and said that Additional Chief Secretary (public health and medical education) Mohammad Suleiman will conduct it.
Chouhan sought a report from officials about where fire safety audits have been conducted and where they have not. “Government and private hospitals will undergo fire safety audits again,” he added.
The chief minister offered his condolences to families of the children who died in the fire. “I pray to God for peace to the departed souls,” he said in a tweet. “I offer my deep condolences to the relatives to the relatives of these children. I hope that those who were injured regain good health soon.”
Madhya Pradesh Medical Education Minister Vishvas Sarang said that the fire at the hospital may have started due to a short circuit.
“We reached the spot along with others soon after getting information about the incident,” he said. “ It was dark inside the ward. We shifted the children to the adjacent ward.”
An additional team of doctors has been called in to look after the newborn babies. Sarang told The Indian Express that there were two doctors for every patient to ensure that their condition was stable.
Sarang said on Twitter that the state government will provide a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the relatives of the children who died. He added that the situation is now completely under control.
The Congress blamed the Madhya Pradesh government for the fire, ANI reported. Two party leaders were stopped from entering the hospital where the deaths took place.
Congress leader PC Sharma said that a sitting High Court judge should investigate the incident.
The fire in Bhopal took place two days after a blaze erupted at the Civil Hospital in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar city. Eleven people died in the fire that had also erupted in the intensive care unit of the hospital.
In the past year, several other fires have also broken out at hospitals around the country.
In April, at least 14 coronavirus patients admitted to a hospital in Virar in Palghar district had died after a fire broke out in the medical facility. A month before that, at least 10 people have died in a fire at a hospital located inside Mumbai’s Dreams Mall.
In May, at least 18 coronavirus patients had died in Gujarat’s Bharuch city.
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