Maharashtra: Ten newborn babies perish in Bhandara hospital fire

In a horrific tragedy, tennewborn babies died after a fire broke out at a neo-natalcare ward of a state-run hospital at Bhandara in eastersnMaharashtra in the early hours of Saturday.

The staff managed to rescue seven of the 17 babies inthe ward.

While the cause was suspected to be a short circuit ormalfunctioning air-conditioning unit and the state govermentordered probe by fire experts, a BJP leader alleged that therewere complaints about power flucuations in the ward but noaction was taken.

Those responsible shall not be spared, chief ministerUddhav Thackeray said. A fire audit of all the hospitals inthe state has been ordered, he informed.

Calling the incident ''heart-wrenching and mind-numbing'', Thackeray said a new wing for children had beenopened at the district hospital in 2015 and it will be probedwhether a fire audit of the new building had been carried out.

He also announced aid of Rs 5 lakh for family membersof deceased babies.

The deceased infants -- eight girls and two boys --were aged between one month and three months, a doctor said.

State health minister Rajesh Tope told reporters that three of the ten infants died of burn injuries whileseven others died of suffocation caused by smoke.

According to doctors, the blaze erupted in the SpecialNewborn Care Unit of the hospital around 1.30 am. Ten out ofthe 17 babies in the affected unit died while seven babieswere rescued, said District civil surgeon Pramod Khandate.

According to Dr Khandate, a nurse noticed smoke comingout from the neonatal section -- which needs continuousoxyygen supply -- and alerted doctors and other staff whorushed there and tried to douse flames with fire extinguishersbefore fire brigade arrived.

They managed to rescued seven children from smoke-filled ward but ten others perished in the tragedy, he said.

The cause of the fire in the four-storey building isyet to be ascertained but could be short circuit, he said.

''The government has ordered a high-level probe to findout if a short circuit or the air conditioner malfunctioningwas the reason,'' said state home minister Anil Deshmukh.

Experts of National Fire Service College and theVisvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT) willconduct investigation, he said.

Former Maharashtra energy minister ChandrashekharBawankule of the BJP claimed that relatives of the infants hadcomplained about power fluctuations in the ward last week.

''The relatives had asked the hospital staff to checkelectric switches etc, but apparently no action was taken,''Bawankule told PTI.

He also alleged that the hospital didn't have properfire safety equipment, and a proposal to purchase fire safetyequipment worth over Rs 1 crore sent to the health departmentwas pending for approval.

Photographs from the ward showed blackened walls,floor thick with ash, and charred furniture.

Unbearable pain was seen in the eyes of parents ofdeceased children as they grappled with the calamity.

''We had not even named our daughter and now we havegot her burnt dead body,'' said Vishwanath Behere, a labourer,as his wife sobbed.

The tragedy evoked condolences from President Ram NathKovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader RahulGandhi and others.

''Heart-wrenching tragedy in Bhandara, Maharashtra,where we have lost precious young lives. My thoughts are withall the bereaved families. I hope the injured recover as earlyas possible,'' Modi tweeted.

In his tweet posted in Hindi, President Kovind said,''I am deeply saddened by the untimely death of infants in afire accident in Bhandara, Maharashtra. My heartfeltcondolences to the families who lost their children in thisheart-wrenching event''.

Rahul Gandhi appealed to the Maharashtra government toprovide all possible assistance to the families of thedeceased and the injured. The Congress is a constituent in theShiv Sena-led state government.

Terming the death of the ten infants a ''very painful''incident, former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavisdemanded a thorough probe.