1 week ago
Amravati NICU Fire Kills Three Newborns, Triggers Inquiry
A fire started in a hospital room where newborn babies were being treated.
It happened early Monday morning, around 3:15 a.m.
Three babies died in the fire.
Police said 36 other babies were rescued.
Nurses, doctors, security guards and some parents helped move the children to safety.
Nurses said a ventilator exploded and that the room was filled with smoke and flames.
One father said he carried his own eight-day-old baby downstairs.
Parents said some babies had black ash on them and questioned whether the water-spray system worked.
Officials are investigating, and the families of the babies who died will receive money from the government.
A fire broke out in the NICU of Amravati’s District Women’s Hospital between 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. Monday.
Three newborns died, while police said 36 other infants were rescued from the hospital.
Nurses said a ventilator exploded and described pulling babies from cradles and incubators through heavy smoke and flames.
Parents reported seeing black ash on some infants and alleged that the ward’s water-spray system failed to operate.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a high-level inquiry, and families of the deceased were promised Rs 5 lakh each.
- Who
- Three newborns died; 36 others were rescued by hospital staff, security guards and parents. Maharashtra officials ordered an inquiry.
- What
- A fire swept through the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, killing three infants and forcing the evacuation of the hospital.
- Where
- The NICU of the District Women’s Hospital in Amravati, Maharashtra.
- When
- Between approximately 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. on Monday, with officials placing the fire’s start at about 3:15 a.m.
- Why
- An initial investigation indicated that a ventilator caught fire or exploded, but the exact cause remains under investigation.
Families’ concerns
Officials’ and staff response
Responsibility for the fire
Families’ concerns
Relatives blamed the hospital administration and said the water-spray system appeared not to function when the fire began.
Officials’ and staff response
Officials said the initial investigation pointed to a ventilator fire or explosion and ordered an inquiry before assigning responsibility.
Emergency response
Families’ concerns
Parents described panic, smoke and black ash on infants, and questioned why the water-spray system was not activated immediately.
Officials’ and staff response
Nurses, doctors and security guards said they worked through smoke and flames to remove babies, while police reported that 36 infants were rescued.
Key facts
- Deaths
- Three newborns died.
- Rescued
- Police Commissioner Rakesh Ola said 36 other newborns were rescued.
- Fire time
- Approximately 3:15 a.m. Monday; nurses described the incident as occurring between 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m.
- Affected unit
- The NICU treated premature, low-weight and critically ill newborns.
- Nurses’ account
- Two nurses said a ventilator exploded and that they rescued nine infants from the affected ward.
- Initial finding
- An initial investigation indicated that a ventilator caught fire.
- Government response
- Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a high-level inquiry, while families were promised Rs 5 lakh for each deceased child.
Quotes
Devendra Fadnavis
Maharashtra chief minister
“My daughter was there. We were all asleep; around 3 AM, a massive fire broke out... Doctors were rushing out with the children. Fire trucks arrived and started dousing the flames... Once the news broke, they evacuated the entire hospital, moving all the children out”
telegraphindia.com
“The incident of the death of three children in the fire that broke out last night at the District Women's Hospital in Amravati is extremely tragic and heart-wrenching”
telegraphindia.com
Two nurses on duty
Nurses who were on duty in the affected neonatal intensive care unit
“While the ventilator was burning, we removed the babies. I can't describe it; it was terrible. The babies were burning next to it; we rescued them, extracted the incubator and took it out and shifted them to a super speciality hospital.”
deccanchronicle.com
“As soon as the fire started, all of us, the nurses, doctors and everyone, made every effort to get the babies out. But later, some babies were not visible; still we went there and took everyone outside. We took the cradles outside.”
deccanchronicle.com
Sources
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