4 newborn babies killed in Bhopal hospital fire
Four newborn babies died on Monday night after a fire broke out at a government hospital in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The blaze started around 9 pm in a ward on the third floor of the Kamala Nehru Children's Hospital, reports said. Nearly a dozen fire engines were rushed to the site for rescue operation. Here are more details on this.
Why does it matter?
The incident has once again triggered questions about the safety arrangements at Indian hospitals. On Sunday, at least 11 COVID-19 patients had died after fire swept through an intensive care unit of a hospital in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. In fact, hospital fires have killed at least 70 people in India this year and most incidents took place during the country's devastating second wave of COVID-19.
36 infants were rescued
Officials said the fire broke out in a general ward and a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) from where 36 of the 40 infants were rescued. The four others, who were already in a critical condition, could not survive. Fatehgarh fire station in-charge Juber Khan said 8-10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to control the blaze.
State Minister reached the hospital
State Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang reached the hospital last night to oversee the rescue operation. "It is a very unfortunate incident. I got here within 10-15 minutes. Initially it seems the fire broke out due to short-circuit. I myself shifted the kids to an adjoining ward," he said. The rescue operation went on for nearly three hours.
CM announces compensation of Rs. 4 lakh
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan termed the incident as painful and announced a compensation of Rs. 4 lakh for the family members of the victims. "The untimely departure of children from the world is an unbearable pain. I pray to God for peace to the departed souls. My deepest condolences to the families of these children," he tweeted.
High-level probe has been ordered
Meanwhile, Chouhan has ordered a high-level probe into the incident. "The probe will be conducted by Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Health and Medical Education, Mohammad Suleiman," the CM said in a tweet. Separately, Arif Masood, a Congress MLA from Bhopal, demanded strict action against those responsible. "The reason behind these incidents should be thoroughly investigated and those responsible should be punished," he said.
