Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday morning condoled the loss of life in the horrific Jhansi hospital fire, where 10 newborn babies died in the children’s ward. The prime minister further assured that the local administration under the Uttar Pradesh government’s supervision was making every possible effort for relief and rescue.
At least 10 newborn babies died due to burns and suffocation in a devastating fire in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmibai Medical College late on Friday night.
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Deputy chief minister Brijesh Pathak, who reached Jhansi on Saturday morning, said a total of 49 children were in the ward, which has a capacity of only 18 beds.
While the bodies of seven children have been identified, three remain unidentified, he said. Efforts are underway to establish their identities and reach their family members, Brijesh Pathak added.
In an X post by the Prime Minister’s Office, PM Narendra Modi said, “Heartbreaking! The fire accident at Jhansi Medical College in Uttar Pradesh is heart-wrenching. My deepest condolences to those who lost their innocent children in this. I pray to God to give them the strength to bear this immense loss.”
“The local administration, under the supervision of the state government, is making every possible effort for relief and rescue,” the prime minister added.
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Meanwhile, the Chief Minister’s Office in UP said on orders of CM Yogi Adityanath, the government has announced an ex gratia amount of ₹5 lakh for the parents of the babies who died, while ₹50,000 will be given to the injured babies’ families.
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“The Chief Minister has directed the Divisional Commissioner and DIG of Jhansi to submit a report regarding the incident within 12 hours,” the CMO statement said.
The fire, which is believed to have started due to a short circuit in an oxygen concentrator, spread rapidly due to the highly oxygenated environment in the NICU.
Authorities have launched multi-level investigations to determine the cause of the fire and assess accountability. Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party alleged that there was a short circuit in the machinery on Friday afternoon as well, which was overlooked by the hospital authorities.
