At least 10 newborns were charred to death while 16 children are battling for lives after fire broke out at a hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi, last night.
While the investigation is underway, the parents who lost their infants are devastated and inconsolable. The grieving parents are demanding justice for their child and severe punishment for those, whose negligence led to such tragedy.
A couple of grieving parents, who witnessed the fire, first-hand also shared their nightmarish experience with the press and explained the frightening chaos that broke out after the blaze. They also shared about how some parents broke into the glass window of neonatal ICU to rescue the infants from inferno.
Kuldeep, whose newborn perished in the fire, recalled his desperate attempts to save other children while searching for his own.
“I protected 4 to 5 children, but I couldn’t find my own,” he said in a trembling voice.
“No one can tell me if I will ever see my child again. My wife and mother are devastated. One doctor even told me, ‘Let him die.’ I want to ask him—would he say that if it were his son?”
Maya, another grieving parent, shared her horror as she lost her grandson.
“My grandson was on life support,” she said, with tears streaming down her face.
“Some parents went in through windows to save the children. A woman who went to feed her child informed us about the fire.”
Ankit, whose six-month-old nephew was among the victims, voiced his disbelief. “They say my nephew is dead because of a short circuit,” he said.
“But how can we trust them? We are demanding a DNA test to confirm.”
The tragedy unfolded around 10:45 PM on Friday when smoke and flames rapidly engulfed the ward, which housed 55 newborns. According to hospital officials, at least 54 children were admitted to the NICU, when the fire broke out. After the fire engulfed the infant ward, hospital staff and others swung into action and rescued 44 newborns.
Initial investigations suggest a short circuit triggered the blaze, though failures in fire safety protocols are being investigated. Initial reports suggest that the fire spread quickly, fueled by oxygen concentrators in the ward, and the fire alarm system failed to activate.
Preliminary reports indicate that hospital’s fire extinguishers had expired, and safety checks were inadequate. Local opposition parties have blamed administrative negligence and called for a full investigation.
(With inputs from IANS)
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