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Two babies were killed in a fire accident at the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) ward of a government hospital in Telangana’s Adilabad on Monday, September 21. One of the victims was reportedly a preterm baby on ventilator care.
Hospital staff and family members were seen rushing out of the ward in distress, holding the babies.
Adilabad district Collector Rajarshi Shah told the media there were at least 27 babies in the SNCU of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Adilabad at the time of the tragedy. The surviving infants were moved to private hospitals, he said.
The fire broke out around 11.40 pm on the night of September 21. The Collector said that, according to preliminary findings, a blast involving an air conditioner may have triggered the fire, filling the ward with smoke. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
Additional Collector Rajeshwar said that some of the hospital staff broke the glass walls of the ward to bring the babies out.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy ordered an inquiry into the causes of the incident. He also instructed officials that safety measures be strengthened across all hospitals to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in future.
He said the death of the two infants was deeply distressing and conveyed his condolences to their families.
(This is a developing story. Further details awaited.)
