At least 14 infants killed in Islamabad hospital fire

At least 14 infants were killed in a fire at a state-run hospital in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Wednesday, the prime minister said, with local media blaming the tragedy on a fault in ‌the air conditioning system.

The blaze started around 7 a.m. (0200 GMT) at the Pakistan Institute of Medical ‌Sciences (PIMS), on the third floor of the hospital's mother and child health ward, said broadcaster Geo TV, which put the death toll at 15. "Give me my child," Javeria, who lost her newborn, said outside the hospital, where ambulances had ⁠gathered. "I ​want justice."

The incident is among ⁠the deadliest hospital fires in recent years in the country, where government healthcare is subsidised but facilities are under-resourced and ⁠overburdened while watchdogs have frequently criticised state-run facilities as mismanaged. There were 16 newborns in the ward when the fire ​broke out, one of whom was rescued, Geo reported. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's office said ⁠he had directed authorities to conduct an immediate investigation.

The ward was cordoned off, a Reuters witness said. Mudasir, another parent who ⁠also ​lost his child, said all doors of the ward, except one, were shut and that there was "no fire security" in the ward. Javeria and Mudasir both gave only their first names.

There ⁠was no immediate comment from the hospital or authorities on the incident. PIMS, centrally located in Islamabad ⁠where former Prime Minister Imran ⁠Khan was briefly treated last week, is one of the main public hospitals of the city of around 1.1 million people.