- Three newborns died after a fire at Amravati District Women's Hospital in Maharashtra
- The fire started around 3:30 am due to a ventilator explosion on the third floor
- 39 newborns were admitted in the Special Newborn Care Unit during the incident
Three newborn babies died after a fire broke out at a government hospital in Maharashtra's Amravati in the early hours of Monday, prompting an emergency evacuation of dozens of infants undergoing treatment.
The fire reportedly erupted around 3:30 am after a ventilator exploded on the third floor. At the time of the incident, 39 newborns were admitted to the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the Amravati District Women's Hospital.
The three infants died after suffering severe burns and smoke inhalation.
Amravati Police Commissioner Rakesh Ola told news agency PTI that the SNCU has three compartments - one each for inborn and outborn babies, and one for step-down care for children ready to be discharged. He further said that 39 infants were admitted across the three sections.
Staff Evacuate Newborns
Doctors, nurses and other hospital staff rushed to the ward after the fire broke out and began evacuating the babies. Medical equipment was disconnected and the infants were moved out of the affected area as the rescue operation got underway.
Six critically affected newborns were shifted to a nearby Super Speciality Hospital for treatment.
Senior police officials, including the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), reached the site shortly after the incident to assess the situation and initiate a probe. Local authorities have announced a formal high-level inquiry to fix accountability for the administrative lapses that led to this tragedy, news agency IANS reported.
Expressing grief over the loss, the Amravati District Guardian Minister and Revenue Minister Chandrashekar Bawankule offered heartfelt condolences to the grieving families and pledged full government support during this crisis.
"I am deeply saddened by today's tragic incident in Amravati. My heart goes out to the affected families," Bawankule said. "I pay my solemn tributes to the departed newborns and pray that God gives their parents the strength to bear this irreparable loss."
"This is a very shocking incident. I do not even know what to say to you. But the fact is that in a new building, in the NICU, small children have been injured. I have saved small children. But here, the firefighting equipment was not properly equipped. Therefore, the fire grew. And an inverter caught fire, so somewhere there has been a lapse. Therefore, the firefighting system here was not properly equipped. Therefore, the fire grew," Thakur said.
