10 children dead in Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi medical college fire

Lucknow: In a tragic incident, at least ten children died in a fire that broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi town late on Friday night.

According to the sources, the toll might increase as some of the 16 children, who were injured in the incident, were stated to be critical. The state government ordered an inquiry into the incident and directed the Jhansi divisional commissioner and IG Police to submit a report within 12 hours.

Jhansi divisional commissioner Bimal Kumar Dubey said that 55 children were admitted in the NICU when the fire broke out around 11 p Thursday night. The fire was said to have been caused by a short circuit in the oxygen concentrator unit in the ward.

Kumar said that 45 children were safely taken out of the Unit. He said that the injured children were being provided the best possible treatment.

Sources said that 15 fire tenders reached the spot after the incident to extinguish the fire. Army was also called in to assist the fire brigade personnel.

Eyewitnesses said that the fire engulfed the Unit quickly giving no chance to the attendants and hospital staff to rescue the children. They also claimed that the safety alarms did not sound when the fire broke out.

The principal of the Medical College Dr Narendra Singh Senger, however, denied the allegations and said that a mock drill had been conducted in June this year and that the alarm system and fire extinguishers were found to be fit.

Sources said that the fire brigade personnel broke the window of the Unit to gain entry and launch rescue operations. There was smoke everywhere in the Unit when they entered there.

The children who were admitted in the outer part of the Unit were first taken out, sources said adding that the children who were in the inner part of the NICU, however, were trapped and by the time they were taken out many of them had suffered serious injuries and died.

Some parents said that they were unable to trace their newborns. Sources said that the administration was yet to trace the parents of six newborns.

UP health minister Brijesh Pathak and other senior officials had reached Jhansi to monitor the relief and rescue operations. Pathak told reporters that the incident would be probed from three different angles and that the officials guilty of laxity would be punished.

Uttar Pradesh government announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs five lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50 thousand to the injured.

Prime minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident. He also announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs two lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased and Rs 50 thousand to the injured.