A fire broke out in the special new born care unit (SNCU) of Kamla Nehru Children’s Hospital on Monday night, in the incident at least four infants died, prompting the government to order a high-level probe into the incident. Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang said a short circuit may have caused the fire and described the situation inside the ward as “very scary”.
According to an official, the blaze started on the third floor of the hospital, which houses the ICU. “Four children died in the fire that broke out in the special newborn care unit (SNCU) ward probably due to a short circuit,” Sarang said.
“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,” he said. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each for the family members of the victims, he added.
The fire broke out around 9 pm and around 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the dears, said Fatehgarh fire station in- charge Juber Khan. A short circuit may have caused the fire, he said. A aggregate of 40 children were admitted to the SNCU. Of these, 36 were witnessing treatment in different wards. In a tweet in Hindi, Chouhan said that the deliverance operation was nippy and the blaze is under control now.
“ A high- position inquiry has been ordered into the incident. The inquiry will be conducted by ACS ( fresh chief clerk), health and medical education, Mohammad Suleiman,”the chief minister said. Upset parents were seen running around in hunt of their children.
Angry family members of some babies contended that rather of saving the children, the sanitarium staff fled. While a parent was searching for his child, some others rushed out of the sanitarium with their children, observers said.
Kamla Nehru Children’s Sanitarium is part of Hamidia Hospital, one of the biggest government medical installations in the state.
Former chief minister and Leader of Opposition Kamal Nath nominated the incident “ veritably painful”and demanded stern action against those responsible. In a tweet, state BJP president Vishnu Dutt Sharma also expressed grief over the incident. He said he was soliciting for the speedy recovery of those injured.
