Three newborns died in a fire said to have been caused by a ventilator blast at a government hospital in Maharashtra’s Amravati in the early hours of Monday, August 23.
The special newborn care unit (SNCU) of District Woman’s Hospital was struck by the fire at about 3:30 am after a ventilator exploded on the third floor, said hospital functionaries. As many as 39 newborns were admitted at the SNCU at the time, they said.
Amravati Police Commissioner Rakesh Ola said the incident is being investigated and that the cause of the fire would be ascertained soon. The hospital’s SNCU has three wards – one each for inborn and outborn babies, and one for step-down care for children ready to be discharged.
As soon as news of the fire spread, the doctors, nurses and other hospital staff all took to evacuating the newborns and disconnected all medical equipment. They managed to evacuate 36 of the 39 newborns in the SNCU safely. Six newborns were immediately rushed for treatment to a nearby Super Speciality Hospital.
Three newborns admitted to the outborn ward of the SNCU were reported dead after suffering from burn wounds and smoke inhalation.
Senior police officials, including the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), reached the hospital shortly after the incident to assess the situation and initiate an investigation. Local authorities announced a formal high-level inquiry to fix accountability for the lapses that led to this tragedy.
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Revenue Minister Chandrashekar Bawankule, who is also Amravati district’s guardian minister, expressed grief over the tragic incident and offered heartfelt condolences to the grieving families. He pledged full government support during this crisis.
“I am deeply saddened by today’s tragic incident in Amravati. My heart goes out to the affected families,” Bawankule said. “I pay my solemn tributes to the departed newborns and pray that God gives their parents the strength to bear this irreparable loss.”
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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis described the incident as “extremely heart-wrenching” and said an immediate inquiry would be conducted, and those accountable would be face action.
“The state government will provide financial assistance of ₹5 lakh to the families of the deceased. Instructions have also been given to the Amravati district collector to provide treatment to the injured children at government expense. Fortunately, 36 children were successfully rescued unharmed in this incident,” the chief minister said.
