10 children died in a terrible fire in a hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi. The fire broke out due to an electrical short circuit in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the pediatric ward of Maharani Lakshmibai Medical College, Jhansi on Friday (November 15) night. An official conducting rescue operations at the scene said that the death toll may increase. Indian media NDTV reported this news.
According to the staff present in the ward, the fire broke out around 10:35 pm. Before the fire brigade reached the spot, doctors and staff tried to evacuate the patients by breaking the windows of the smoke-filled ward. 37 children were rescued safely.
A fire broke out in one of the two units of the NICU in the children's ward. Along with the children outside, some of the children inside were also rescued.
Jhansi District Magistrate Avinash Kumar said that a committee has been formed to investigate the cause of the incident.
According to preliminary information, 10 children died in the accident. He said that 6 fire engines are working at the spot. Rescue and relief work was carried out quickly with the help of policemen.
A total of 54 children were admitted in the NICU at the time of the incident, of which 44 were rescued. Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak has confirmed the identity of 7 of the 10 children killed.
Several burnt medical equipments were seen inside the affected wards. A crowd of panicked patients and their relatives can be seen outside the medical college. The relatives of the dead children burst into tears.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his condolences to the families of the victims of the tragic accident. He expressed deep condolences to the bereaved family on social media.
