10 newborn babies killed, 7 rescued in a fire at Maharashtra hospital on Saturday

Jan. 9: In a heart-wrenching incident, ten newborn premature babies died after a fire broke out at a hospital in  Maharashtra at around 2 AM on Saturday. The incident took place at Sick Newborn Care Unit of Bhandara District General Hospital. There were 17 babies in the unit and seven were rescued. A nurse, who first noticed smoke coming out from the neonatal section, alerted others. The families have been given bodies without postmortem. The cause of the fire in the four-storeyed building is yet to be ascertained.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray spoke to Health Minister Rajesh Tope, and he has also ordered a probe into the incident. In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote, “Heart-wrenching tragedy in Bhandara, Maharashtra, where we have lost precious young lives. My thoughts are with all the bereaved families. I hope the injured recover as early as possible.”

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi too expressed deep sorrow and tweeted, “The unfortunate incident of fire at Bhandara District General Hospital in Maharashtra is extremely tragic. My condolences to the families of the children who lost their lives. I appeal to Maha Govt to provide every possible assistance to the families of the injured & deceased.”

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope has announced an ex-gratia compensation of Rs. 5 lakh each for the next of kin of the ten babies who died in the fire incident.