As 16 more newborns struggle for their lives, parents doubt the safety precautions taken by the Uttar Pradesh hospital.
In the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, a hospital's neonatal critical care unit caught fire, killing at least ten newborns.
49 newborns were receiving treatment at the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi city when the fire started at around 10.45 p.m. (local time) on Friday.
According to local authorities, 16 of the 38 more babies that were rescued were in severe condition. "We've identified seven corpses. Brajesh Pathak, the state's deputy chief minister, informed reporters that the identities of the three bodies were yet unknown.
A fire at a hospital in India has left 16 critically injured infants dead. The fire was caused by a fire that broke windows and left one infant missing. The hospital staff and locals broke windows to rescue the infants from the neonatal care unit.
An investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the fire. Grief-stricken parents were seen crying and screaming in agony over the loss of the children.
The accident has raised questions over the hospital's safety measures, as fire alarms were installed in the intensive care unit but were not activated during the blaze.
Parents and witnesses claim that if the safety alarm had worked, they could have acted sooner and saved more lives.
Akhtar Hussain, whose son was rescued, believes the tragedy could have been prevented if the hospital had better safety protocols.
The deputy chief minister claims a fire safety audit was conducted in February and a mock fire drill in June.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences and offered an ex-gratia of Rs200,000 for the relatives of the dead and Rs50,000 for the injured.
Mr. Modi wrote, "My deepest condolences to those who lost their innocent children in this," on X.
"May God give strength to the bereaved parents and families to bear this cruel blow," President Droupadi Murmu said. I offer up prayers for the damaged infants' quick recovery.
In India, where construction regulations and safety standards are frequently disregarded by both people and builders, fires are frequent.
Seven newborns perished in a fire at an unregistered children's hospital in the capital city of New Delhi earlier in May.
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