Bhopal shocker! Hospital fire leads to the death of four children

A fire broke out in the special newborn care unit of Kamla Nehru Children's Hospital in Madhya Pradesh's capital, leading to the tragedy. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each for the family members of the victims

Pic courtesy: Pixabay (representational purpose)

Bhopal: In an extremely shocking and tragic incident, at least four infants lost their lives after a fire broke out in the special newborn care unit (SNCU) of Kamla Nehru Children's Hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal on Monday (November 8) night, prompting the government to order a high-level probe into the incident.

Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang said a short circuit may have caused the fire and described the situation inside the ward as "very scary".
According to an official, the blaze started on the third floor of the hospital, which houses the ICU. "Four children died in the fire that broke out in the special newborn care unit (SNCU) ward probably due to a short circuit," Sarang said. "We reached the spot along with others soon after getting information about the incident. It was dark inside the ward. We shifted the children to the adjacent ward," he said.

Sarang also said that out of the 40 children in the ward, 36 were safe. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each for the family members of the victims, he added.

The fire broke out around 9 pm and around 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flames, said Fatehgarh fire station in-charge Juber Khan. Condoling the heart-breaking incident, the Chief Minister took to Twitter and in a series of tweets expressed his anguish and assured of a high-level probe.  "A high-level probe has been ordered into the incident. The probe will be conducted by ACS (additional chief secretary), health and medical education, Mohammad Suleiman," the chief minister said.

भोपाल के कमला नेहरू अस्पताल के चाइल्ड वार्ड में आग की घटना दुखद है। बचाव कार्य तेजी से हुआ। घटना की उच्चस्तरीय जांच के निर्देश दिए हैं। जांच एसीएस लोक स्वास्थ्य एवं चिकित्सा शिक्षा मोहम्मद सुलेमान करेंगे।

— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) November 8, 2021

This disaster at the Bhopal hospital comes in the heels of another hospital fire tragedy. On November 6, a fire at the ICU ward of Ahmednagar Civil Hospital in Maharashtra led to the death of at least 11 patients.

Worried parents were seen running around in search of their children. Angry family members of some infants alleged that instead of saving the children, the hospital staff fled. While a parent was searching for his child, some others rushed out of the hospital with their children, eyewitnesses said. A woman who was inside the hospital said the ward was shrouded in smoke.

Kamla Nehru Children's Hospital is part of Hamidia Hospital, one of the biggest government medical facilities in the state. Former chief minister and Leader of Opposition Kamal Nath termed the incident "very painful" and demanded stern action against those responsible. In a tweet, state BJP president Vishnu Dutt Sharma also expressed grief over the incident. He said he was praying for the speedy recovery of those injured.