Pakistan nursery fire kills 14 newborns, exposes safety failures

A morning blaze in the capital

A fire tore through a neonatal nursery at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad at about 6:45 a.m. Wednesday, killing 14 newborns. At least 15 babies were inside, and officials said one infant was rescued.ksat +1 Six fire engines and four ambulances responded to the third-floor ward at the Mother and Child Centre.dawn

Officials initially said an air-conditioning compressor exploded, while another minister attributed the blaze to a short circuit. The precise cause remains under investigation, but oxygen equipment and gas lines may have accelerated the flames after power failed in the ward.thenews +1

Conflicting accounts sharpen scrutiny

Accounts of the nursery's readiness diverged within hours. Rescue sources told local media that a fire point had no water, hose couplings were missing and evacuation routes were locked; they also alleged that staff were absent from the incubation centre.thenews The hospital's executive director disputed that picture, saying two doctors, four nurses and other staff were present, the fire-safety system was satisfactory and rescuers encountered no obstruction.thenews

Parents described a chaotic evacuation. One father said all but one of the ward's doors were shut and there was “no fire security,” while another witness said women who had just given birth had to rush down stairs as smoke spread through a building undergoing renovation.yahoo +1 The conflicting claims leave the inquiry to establish not only what ignited the fire, but whether basic safeguards worked in a ward whose patients could not be evacuated without help.

An inquiry with a 24-hour deadline

The Islamabad district magistrate formed an eight-member, multiagency committee and ordered a report within 24 hours. Its mandate includes identifying the cause and spread of the fire, checking whether safety equipment was functional, and evaluating the speed and effectiveness of the rescue response.ksat +1

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also suspended and removed federal Health Secretary Aslam Ghauri and created a separate high-level committee to determine responsibility.humenglish President Asif Ali Zardari called for legal action against those responsible and stronger emergency measures in hospitals, particularly wards caring for newborns.npr

The blaze ranks among Pakistan's deadliest hospital fires. It follows a January shopping-complex fire in Karachi that killed at least 65 people, underscoring persistent concerns over weak enforcement of building and fire codes.aljazeera For the bereaved families, the immediate demand is narrower and more urgent: a credible account of why so few babies could be saved.