Amravati (Maharashtra) [India], August 24 (ANI): Congress MLA from Amravati Sulbha Sanjay Khodke on Monday said the deaths of three newborns in a fire at a government hospital were a “truly tragic incident” and called for a detailed inquiry into the circumstances that led to the blaze.
Khodke said the infants who died were premature and had low birth weight, requiring intensive care and close medical monitoring. She said there were nine patients in the affected unit and that hospital staff managed to evacuate the babies and shift them to a private hospital following the incident.
“This is a truly tragic incident. These were premature, low-birth-weight infants who required ICU care. There were nine patients in total, three of whom passed away, but the staff managed to evacuate all the babies and have them admitted to a private hospital. Nevertheless, this is a tragic event. It involves an electrical issue; the full details will only be known after an inquiry is conducted. I requested an inquiry and a thorough investigation into exactly what happened,” Khodke said.
The MLA’s remarks came after a fire broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the District Women’s Hospital in Amravati in the early hours of Monday. According to officials, the fire broke out at around 3.15 am in the NICU on the third floor, with a ventilator reportedly sparking and triggering the blaze.
The NICU was housing premature and critically ill newborns at the time of the incident. Hospital staff, including doctors and nurses, immediately launched an evacuation operation after the fire broke out and managed to rescue several infants from the affected unit. Three newborns, however, died in the incident, while other babies were shifted to other medical facilities for continued treatment.
Officials said the NICU had several sections catering to newborns requiring different levels of care. The fire reportedly originated in the section housing outborn babies. Six infants were subsequently shifted to a super-speciality hospital, according to officials.
The cause of the fire has not yet been conclusively established. While preliminary information has pointed towards an electrical malfunction involving a ventilator, authorities are expected to determine the precise sequence of events through the inquiry.
The incident has once again brought the safety of neonatal and intensive-care units into focus, where premature and critically ill infants are particularly vulnerable during emergencies. Amravati has also witnessed a previous NICU fire incident.
The latest incident has therefore raised renewed questions over electrical and fire-safety arrangements in critical-care facilities. Khodke has sought a comprehensive investigation to establish what caused the fire and whether any lapses contributed to the deaths.
Authorities are continuing to assess the incident and the condition of the infants who were evacuated from the NICU. (ANI)