Police officers move past an ambulance outside an intensive care unit after a fire broke out at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences hospital in Islamabad, on Wednesday. – Web Desk
ISLAMABAD: Fourteen newborns were killed in a fire that broke out in the gynaecology ward of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Wednesday morning.
Footage aired on television showed rescue workers using ladders to reach broken windows to access the affected area of the hospital. Footage showed grief-stricken women sitting on the ground outside the hospital.
Witnesses said they waited for hours for help from the emergency services. They were forced to smash through windows to try and get to the neonatal intensive care unit.
Others said they came across locked doors and alleged guards prevented those inside the building from leaving as the fire raged.
The Islamabad administration said in a statement that the fire broke out on the third floor of the Mother and Child Hospital’s ward of the facility.
It said that rescue teams rushed to the scene, with fire brigade vehicles and ambulances taking part in the rescue operation.
“The fire was immediately brought under control and the children were immediately shifted to the intensive care unit,” it said, adding that 14 children “were completely burnt”.
According to media reports, PIMS spokesperson Dr Aneeza Jalil said that 15 newborns were in the ward at the time when the fire broke out. “At least one baby was saved by a doctor,” she said.
Talking to the media, federal health minister Mustafa Kamal said that the infants in the ward were either in incubators or on oxygen. He said the incident occurred at 6:45am due to a “blast in the air conditioner” inside the facility.
He said that the blast caused the fire, which was exacerbated due to the presence of the oxygen tanks in the ICU. He confirmed that 14 infants had been killed.
Later, state minister for interior Talal Chaudhry told the media that after receiving information in the control room, rescue teams reached the hospital within minutes.
He said that after reaching the facility the rescue teams rescued 19 people, including children, mothers and men.
An inquiry committee has been formed to probe the incident, Chaudhry added. He said the committee will collect evidence, including CCTV footage, presence of flammable equipment, why the door was locked, the number of doctors and nurses present there at the time of the incident. – News Agencies
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