Three newborns died after a fire broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of a government hospital in Maharashtra’s Amravati city early Monday, officials said. Thirty-six other newborns were rescued from the facility.

The fire broke out around 3.15 am when a ventilator in the outborn babies’ section of the NICU at the District Women’s Hospital caught fire, Amravati Police Commissioner Rakesh Ola said.

The NICU has three sections for inborn and outborn babies and those in step-down care. A total of 39 infants were admitted across the three sections when the incident occurred.

Three newborns in the outborn section died in the fire, while six others in the same section were rescued, Ola said. Six infants were later shifted to a super-speciality hospital for treatment.

Maharashtra Revenue Minister and Amravati guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said some infants were also shifted to the Divisional Referral Services Hospital. Four children were being treated there, with one in critical condition.

Hospital staff on duty immediately rushed to the NICU and evacuated the other babies to safety, Bawankule said.

He ordered a comprehensive inquiry into the incident and said the government would provide all necessary assistance to the families of the deceased and those affected.

Fire personnel and the Public Works Department’s electrical wing have been informed and will investigate the cause of the blaze, Ola said.

Bawankule said he was deeply saddened by the deaths and that the administration was closely monitoring the situation.
(PTI inputs)