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At least 14 newborn babies have died in a fire that broke out in the maternity ward at one of Pakistan’s most prominent state hospitals.
The blaze began in the early hours of Wednesday and engulfed the ward at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, the biggest state hospital in Islamabad.
A statement by the hospital administration confirmed that 14 newborn babies had died in the fire.
Hospital spokesperson Dr Aneeza Jalil told Dawn newspaper that 15 babies were on the ward at the time and that “one baby was saved by a doctor”. Women who had just given birth were forced to run down several flights of stairs to evacuate.
The health minister, Mustafa Kamal, said many of the babies had been in incubators or on oxygen, and that the oxygen canisters had exacerbated the fire.
Kamal suggested that the blaze had been caused by an air conditioner but investigators were still at the scene and authorities have not confirmed the cause. Repair works and construction were ongoing at the hospital.
Sohail Ashraf, the Islamabad chief commissioner, said the emergency call was made just before 7am, with rescue and police teams quickly reaching the scene.
“The fire was immediately brought under control and the children were immediately shifted to the intensive care unit,” said the hospital administration’s statement.
The prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, directed authorities to conduct an immediate investigation into the incident, which was one of the deadliest hospital fires in years.
“Such a situation involving children is irreparable,” said Sharif. “Those responsible should be identified, and the strictest action should be taken.”
Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, expressed condolences to the families of the newborn babies. In a statement, he said that the loss of lives was “heartbreaking”.
Fires in large buildings such as factories and shopping malls are frequent in Pakistan, often due to poor safety laws and lax enforcement of building codes.
