Fourteen newborns died Wednesday after an air conditioner exploded and sparked a fire inside a third-floor nursery at one of Pakistan’s largest public hospitals, prompting an immediate government investigation and the removal of the country’s top Health Ministry civil servant.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Fourteen newborn babies were killed Wednesday when an exploding air conditioner ignited a fire inside a nursery at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad, leaving grieving families demanding answers about fire protections and the hospital’s emergency response.
Fifteen infants were inside the nursery when the blaze began. Only one survived, according to the hospital.
Television footage from the scene showed rescue workers climbing ladders toward broken third-floor windows as emergency crews attempted to reach the nursery.
Outside the hospital, parents and relatives gathered as news of the deaths spread. Some wept while others questioned how a fire could have become so deadly inside a hospital nursery and whether adequate firefighting equipment and safeguards had been available.
The Pakistani government quickly opened an investigation into the disaster.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered the removal of Health Secretary Aslam Ghauri, the highest-ranking civil servant in the Health Ministry, as authorities began examining the circumstances surrounding the fire.
Among the parents mourning a child was a woman who identified herself as Mrs. Mohammad Sami.
She said she had given birth three days earlier and that her newborn was receiving intensive care in the nursery when the fire erupted.
“I don’t know what to say or whom to blame,” she said through tears. “I have lost my child.”
The fire remained confined to the nursery, according to hospital officials and witnesses.
No other sections of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences were affected, and no additional injuries were reported elsewhere in the facility.
Islamabad Chief Commissioner Suhail Ashraf said firefighters eventually extinguished the blaze.
The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences is one of Islamabad’s largest public hospitals, making the loss of 14 infants inside a specialized nursery one of the country’s most serious recent tragedies involving children.
In June, 14 schoolchildren were killed in Lahore when the roof of a tutoring center that was under construction collapsed.
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal confirmed the nursery death toll and told Geo News that he was traveling from Karachi to Islamabad to personally oversee the investigation.
Hospital spokesperson Dr. Aneeza Jalil said a doctor managed to rescue the sole surviving infant from the nursery.
She said the bodies of six babies had already been released to their families and that the remaining bodies would be handed over soon.
Authorities are now examining not only what caused the fire but why it spread rapidly enough to kill nearly every infant inside the nursery.
The Islamabad district magistrate appointed a fact-finding committee and ordered it to submit its findings within 24 hours.
According to a government order, investigators are expected to determine the cause of the blaze and how it spread through the nursery.
The committee will also examine whether the hospital had sufficient fire-safety systems in place and whether those measures functioned as intended.
Investigators have additionally been instructed to evaluate the response once the fire was detected, including whether emergency procedures were followed effectively.
The inquiry comes as senior Pakistani officials publicly expressed grief over the deaths and called for accountability.
Sharif convened a high-level meeting with officials from relevant government agencies within hours of the fire.
“A tragedy involving children is an irreparable loss,” Sharif said.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also expressed sorrow over the deaths.
President Asif Ali Zardari offered condolences to the families and described the loss of the newborns as “heartbreaking and an irreparable loss.”
Zardari called for anyone found responsible for the tragedy to be held accountable.
He also urged hospitals across the country to maintain effective fire-prevention systems and emergency procedures capable of protecting patients during fires and other disasters.
The investigation will now focus on whether Wednesday’s deaths resulted solely from the air conditioner explosion or whether deficiencies in fire protection, equipment, evacuation procedures or the emergency response contributed to the scale of the disaster.
For the families of the 14 infants, those questions follow an abrupt loss inside a hospital nursery where their newborns had been receiving medical care only moments before the fire began.
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