A fire triggered by an exploding air conditioner killed 14 newborns in a hospital nursery in the capital of Pakistan on Wednesday, officials said.
One baby of the 15 who were in the nursery at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences was rescued, the hospital said.
Television footage showed rescue workers using ladders to reach the third-floor nursery through broken windows. Grieving parents and relatives gathered at the hospital, some weeping while others demanded answers about how the fire began and whether the nursery had adequate firefighting equipment.
The government has opened an investigation, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered Health Secretary Aslam Ghauri, the Health Ministry’s highest civil servant, to be removed from office.
A woman who identified herself as Mrs. Mohammad Sami said she gave birth three days earlier and her baby was receiving intensive care in the nursery when the fire broke out.
“I don’t know what to say or whom to blame,” she said through tears. “I have lost my child.”
The fire was confined to the nursery at the institute, which is one of Islamabad’s largest public hospitals. The rest of the facility was unaffected with no other injuries reported, according to hospital officials and witnesses. The blaze was later extinguished, Islamabad Chief Commissioner Suhail Ashraf said.
It was among Pakistan’s deadliest recent tragedies involving children. In June, 14 schoolchildren were killed when the roof of a tutoring center under construction collapsed in the eastern city of Lahore.
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal, who confirmed the death toll, told the Geo News channel that he was traveling from Karachi to Islamabad to oversee the investigation.
Dr. Aneeza Jalil, a hospital spokesperson, said a doctor rescued one baby. She said the bodies of six babies had been handed over to their families, while the remaining bodies would be released soon.
The Islamabad district magistrate appointed a fact-finding committee and asked it to submit a report within 24 hours. The panel will investigate the cause of the fire and its spread, determine whether adequate fire-safety measures were in place, and evaluate the emergency response, according to a government order.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Sharif, the prime minister, expressed sorrow over the fire.
“A tragedy involving children is an irreparable loss,” said Sharif, who held a high-level meeting with officials from relevant agencies hours after the fire.
President Asif Ali Zardari also offered condolences to the families, describing the deaths as “heartbreaking and an irreparable loss.” He called for those responsible to be brought to justice and urged hospitals to ensure effective fire-safety measures and emergency procedures.
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