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10 infants killed in Maharashtra hospital fire, CM Thackeray orders probe
Ten new-born babies died after fire broke out in the Special Newborn Care Unit of Bhandara District General Hospital in Maharashtra in the early hours on Saturday.
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Bhandara
At least three of the ten infants died of burn injuries while seven others died of suffocation caused by smoke, Health Minister Rajesh Tope said,
The infants were aged between a month and three months, a doctor said.
District civil surgeon Pramod Khandate said fire broke out at the Bhandara district hospital at around 1.30 am. There were 17 babies in the unit and seven were rescued, he added.
A nurse first noticed smoke coming out from the neonatal section of the hospital and alerted doctors and other staff who reached there in five minutes, he said.
Fire brigade personnel rescued seven babies from the 'inbound ward' of the unit but could not save the 10 other babies, he said.
Khandate said the ward where newborn babies are kept requires a continuous supply of oxygen. ''There were fire extinguishers and staff used them while trying to douse the fire. There was too much smoke,'' he added.
Parents of the deceased children have been informed and the seven newborn babies rescued in the blaze have been shifted to another ward, he said.
Patients from the ICU ward, dialysis wing and labour ward (a room in a hospital set aside for childbirth) were also shifted to other wards safely, he added.
The cause of the fire in the four-storeyed building is yet to be ascertained but could have been the result of an electrical short circuit, he said.
Read more: PM Modi, Amit Shah express grief over death of newborn babies in Maharashtra hospital fire
Taking a strong note of the shocking incident, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray ordered an investigation into the cause of the fire.
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Expressing anguish over the tragedy, the Chief Minister also discussed the matter with Health Minister Rajesh Tope and district authorities and said stringent punishment must be given to those found responsible.
"Ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakhs each to be provided to the kin of the deceased in the fire incident at Bhandara District General Hospital," Tope said.
"Ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakhs each to be provided to the kin of the deceased in the fire incident at Bhandara District General Hospital," Tope said.
Meanwhile, President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, District Guardian Minister Vishwajeet Kadam, Maharashtra Leaders of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis and Pravin Darekar, other senior leaders have expressed grief over the incident.Â
(With inputs from IANS)
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