At least 10 newborns were killed and 16 others were injured after a massive fire broke out at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Jhansi Medical College in Uttar Pradesh. According to local authorities, the incident took place late Friday evening.
The officials noted that at least 54 infants were admitted to the unit when the incident took place. All the babies trapped inside the centre have been rescued, ANI reported. However, the authorities are still working on controlling the fire.
“There were 54 babies admitted in the NICU ward. Suddenly a fire broke out inside the Oxygen concentrator, efforts to douse the fire were made but since the room was highly oxygenated, the fire spread quickly,” Chief Medical Superintendent at Jhansi Medical College, Sachin Mahor told _ANI. “_Many babies were rescued. 10 babies have died, and injured babies are undergoing treatment,” he added.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was briefed about the incident following which he took to X, formally known as Twitter, to express grief over the matter. “The death of children in an accident that occurred in the NICU of the medical college located in Jhansi district is extremely sad and heartbreaking,” the UP CM wrote on Saturday.
“The district administration and concerned officials have been instructed to carry out relief and rescue operations on a war footing. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to provide salvation to the departed souls and speedy recovery to the injured,” he added.
According to The Time of India, Jhansi DM Avinash Kumar said the preliminary reports suggest that a short circuit in the unit triggered the fire. The fire, which occurred around 10:30 and 10:45 pm, led to a stampede-like situation in the hospital. Meanwhile, six fire brigades rushed to the NICU to control the blaze.
Another factor that contributed to a high death toll is that the safety alarm did not go off, delaying the evacuation process. The chief medical superintendent said there was a fire at an oxygen concentrator that spread rapidly causing major devastation.
With inputs from agencies.
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10 newborns killed, 16 injured as massive fire breaks out at Jhansi Medical College, UP CM reacts
