At least four infants died after a fire broke out in one of the wards of the Kamala Nehru Children's Hospital in Bhopal late on Monday night, 8 November.
A total of 40 children were in the special ward of the hospital at the time of the incident. Of these four died, and 36 were evacuated to safety by the fire officials along with the hospital staff.
The infants who were killed in the blaze were just about one to nine days old, The Tribune reported, quoting a health official.
News of the blaze spread quickly on Monday night, causing complete chaos, according to eyewitnesses.
As the security staff of the hospital forced relatives of patients out, parents of children who were admitted at the hospital entered a state of desperation as they waited for updates on them. Some tried to enter the hospital and save their children, but were prevented from doing so by the security staff, they claimed.
One of the family members of a newborn boy who was admitted to the hospital, claimed that he and some others had noticed sparking and complained to the management. However, no action was taken, the man said, adding that two hours later, the fire broke out there.
Meanwhile, a teary Ramesh Dangi, whose twins were admitted at the hospital, said that a nurse at the hospital did not allow him to enter, following which he started breaking glass panes of windows to allow the smoke to escape.
"I had two children," he kept saying, and in response to questions about their condition, added that he could not even enter the hospital to see them due to the amount of smoke inside.
"I could not even see my children... there was fire everywhere," said Dangi, who was trying to take some milk for his children when he saw the blaze.
The special ward after the fire was doused.
(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)
The Tribune reported that the worried parents could be seen rushing around at the scene, hoping to be able to rescue their children.
Meanwhile, a mother who was also present at the scene, lashed out at the hospital, questioning the state of services provided there.
"What have the doctors done? What are these provisions and amenities? The doctors have done nothing," she wailed, adding that ministers should return the children to the parents.
"If they are able to save our kids, only then we will believe that they are actual ministers," she further said.
State Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang has announced that the families of deceased children will be provided a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each.
"It's a very painful incident and there really can't be any compensation but we are trying our best. An enquiry has been ordered into the matter and necessary action will be taken post enquiry," he added.
What Had Happened?
According to officials, the fire broke out in a general ward and a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) ward, from where 36 of the 40 infants were rescued.
Sarang, who rushed to the spot and was overseeing rescue operations, said that initially it seems the fire broke out due to short-circuit.
Fatehgarh fire station in-charge Juber Khan said that 8 to 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire which started around 8:45 pm, multiple reports suggested.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan later took to social media to condemn the incident and ordered a high-level probe into it.
(With inputs from The Tribune.)
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