A fire at a hospital in northern India has killed at least 12 babies in the neonatal intensive care unit. The NICU fire broke out on November 15, 2024, in Jhansi city in India’s Uttar Pradesh state. Initially, 10 newborn babies reportedly died in the tragic fire.
Though dozens of babies were rescued, at least 16 were in critical condition, reported BBC. As of November 18, local news outlet the Times of India reported that two more babies had lost their lives.
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55 infants were being treated in the NICU at the time of the fire.
Per CBS News, there were 55 babies in the NICU when the fire started. Dr. Narendra Singh Sengar, principal of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, told the Times of India that 37 babies are still being treated. Sengar told the publication that one baby died on Sunday, November 17, and another one died on Monday, November 18, bringing the death toll to 12.
A dad saved seven babies at the hospital, but lost his own daughters in the fire.
Yakoob Mansuri was outside the hospital when the NICU fire started, local outlet India Today reported. He and some other parents tried to rescue the children in the hospital, but the fire was “massive,” he told the publication.
“I could not enter the ward where my daughters were admitted because the fire was so intense,” Mansuri told the news outlet. “Other parents also tried, but they too failed. Then we started rescuing infants from other wards. I took out seven children.”
Unfortunately, Mansuri lost his two daughters in the fire. He told the publication that he and other parents “just want to get justice for our children.”
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The NICU fire has led to questions about the hospital's safety protocols.
Some parents of babies in the NICU believe that the tragedy could’ve been avoided. Per CBS, the fire alarms in the NICU reportedly didn’t go off when the fire started. Staff at the hospital didn’t take action until they noticed physical signs that a fire had started. By the time rescue efforts began, 30 minutes had already passed, according to witnesses, per CBS.
The tragic incident is under investigation.
An investigative committee has been tasked with investigating the devastating NICU fire, reported the Times of India. The committee is expected to look into what could’ve caused the fire and whether or not negligence was a contributing factor. Per India Today, an initial investigation suggests that the NICU fire was accidental and potentially caused by an electrical short circuit.
In a separate incident, six newborn babies died in a hospital in India about six months ago.
Sadly, a similar incident occurred within the last six months, reported BBC. At the end of May, a fire killed six babies at a hospital in Delhi. At the time of that fire, there were 12 babies in the unit.
