Baby Dies, 4 Injured After Fire Breaks Out At Children Hospital In Hyderabad

A three-month-old baby died and four other infants were injured after a fire broke out at a private children's hospital in Hyderabad’s LB Nagar area in early morning hours on Monday. According to PTI, the incident happened in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the hospital at 2.55 am, LB Nagar Police Station Inspector V Ashok Reddy was quoted as saying. The injured babies were shifted by parents and police to different hospitals. Initial reports say that a short circuit caused the fire.

As many as 42 children were undergoing treatment at the hospital at the time of the accident and the five babies were admitted in the NICU, the Inspector said. A case under IPC section 304A (causing death by negligence) has been registered in connection with the incident and a probe is on. Hospitals in India have poor fire safety records. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, a minimum of 8,599 fire stations are needed in India; however, only 2,087 are in place. As many as 17,700 Indians lost their lives due to accidental fires in 2015.

Earlier in February, a massive fire had broken out at the Metro Hospitals and Heart Institute in Noida Sector-12. Later, it was reported that the hospital was functioning without a fire licence that expired over five months ago, officials said. "The hospital authorities had got a license from the fire department in March 2017, but they did not get it renewed from over five months," Gautam Budh Nagar Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Arun Kumar Singh had said.

News Nation had reported that the blaze broke out on the third and fourth floor of the hospital. There were reports that some patients saved their lives by jumping out from the building. The rescuers are searching each and every room to look for trapped patients or medical staff. According to its website, Metro multi-specialty hospital has over 2,500 beds. The hospital is said to be among 12 top hospitals in Delhi, NCR, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh. The chief fire officer fainted because of the smoke. A magisterial enquiry has been ordered by the district magistrate.