In a bit of devastating news, a fire at a hospital in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) killed 10 newborn babies. The terrifying tragedy happened at the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College Hospital in Jhansi city in India's Uttar Pradesh state.
According to the BBC, the NICU housed a total of 55 newborns at the hospital. Bimal Kumar Dubey, a local official, spoke out about the fire. They said that dozens are being treated after the fire. At least 16 infants are in critical condition right now. Firefighters responded to the blaze, but they arrived 30 minutes after the fire began.
Likewise, fire safety protocols weren't working in the NICU. Officals found expired fire extinguishers as well as faulty fire alarms. All of this made for a tragic situation. So how did this happen? Brajesh Pathak, the deputy chief minister of the state, said that inspectors previously took a look at the fire safety systems in February. They last had a fire drill in June.
The cause of the fire hasn't been identified yet.
"The cause of the fire will be probed," he said, according to The Guardian. "If any lapses are found, strict action will be taken against those responsible and no one will be spared."
NICU Fire
But it had a devastating effect, killing 10 newborns in the NICU.
"When the fire broke out, I couldn't go inside to rescue my baby. How could I? When no one was able to get inside, how could anyone hand me my baby?" a mother told ANI news agency per the BBC. "If the safety alarm had worked, we could have acted sooner and saved more lives."
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a message on X, formerly Twitter. She called the deaths of the babies at the NICU to be a heartbreaking and immense loss.
"My deepest condolences to those who have lost their innocent children in this. I pray to God to give them the strength to bear this immense loss," he wrote, adding of the investigation, which remains ongoing: "The local administration, under the supervision of the state government, is making every possible effort for relief and rescue."
