Fire at Pakistani Public Hospital Maternity Ward Kills 14 Newborns

A fire, suspected to have been caused by a faulty air conditioning system, broke out at a public hospital in Pakistan, killing 14 newborns.

According to the Associated Press and Pakistani media outlet Geo News on the 26th (local time), a fire broke out at around 6:45 a.m. that day in a building of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), a public hospital located in the capital city of Islamabad.

As a result of the fire, 14 out of 15 newborns in the obstetrics and gynecology ward died, while only one was rescued by medical staff.

After the fire broke out on the third floor of the maternity ward that day, six fire engines and four ambulances were deployed to extinguish the flames.

Bereaved family members who lost their children wailed in front of a police cordon set up near the hospital entrance.

Jaweria, who lost a child in the fire that day, told AFP that the door to the neonatal intensive care unit was locked when the fire started, asking, "Why did the doctors leave the children there?"

Abdul Ghafoor, an eyewitness, recounted that he went inside the hospital to rescue patients after the fire started, but could not get close to the maternity ward.

He claimed, "The inside (of the hospital building) was filled with thick black smoke and patients were trapped," adding, "Rescue teams arrived nearly two hours later (after the fire broke out)."

Another eyewitness recalled, "(Hospital security guards) did not let people go outside," and "People broke down the doors (themselves)."

Holding her ten-day-old baby in her arms with soot-stained hands, Shagufta Parveen said, "There was thick black smoke and screams," adding, "We ran for our lives, and the child is safe."

A source from the rescue authorities told Geo News that the fire started when the air conditioning system exploded inside the neonatal unit.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his condolences to the victims and ordered relevant authorities to conduct an immediate investigation.

(Photo: AFP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.