(AFP) – At least 10 newborns were killed and several others injured in a fire at the neonatal unit of an Indian hospital, authorities said on Saturday
The fire broke out at about 10:30 pm (1700 GMT) on Friday night at the Maharani Lakshmibai Medical College in Jhansi, around 450 kilometres (280 miles) south of the capital New Delhi. A faulty oxygen machine reportedly caused fire at the medical facility.
Footage from the scene showed charred beds and walls inside the ward as a crowd of anguished families waited outside. "My child has gone forever," one mother wailed as she clutched her head in grief.
39 babies rescued from the fire, all only days old, were moved to a new unit inside the hospital where staff were caring for them.
"Ten infants have unfortunately died despite our best efforts," doctor Narendra Sengar, the principal of a medical college attached to the hospital, told AFP.
Sengar said all 39 other babies in the ward had been rescued and were in good health, contradicting earlier media reports that 16 had been critically injured.
"The postmortem examinations of the babies are being carried out. The 39 infants who have been rescued are unscathed," he added.
Doctors and staff on duty had rushed to the rescue of the babies "without caring for their own lives", he said. "Thanks to them we could save 39 babies. They are the real heroes."
Deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Brajesh Pathak met the parents and relatives of the infants Saturday and assured them of a thorough probe.
Pathak said a safety audit of the hospital was carried out in February followed by a fire drill three months later.
"The cause of the fire will be probed," he added. "If any lapses are found, strict action will be taken against those responsible and no one will be spared."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the deaths "heart-wrenching" in a post on X.
"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.