On Saturday morning, the post-mortem examination of the ten infants who perished in a fire at the state-run Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, got underway. Prior to their deaths on Friday night, all ten infants had sustained burn injuries.
The administration is taking action to guarantee a comprehensive probe into the tragedy, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said the reporters as he hurried to Jhansi. In addition to a magisterial investigation, he said that investigations would be carried out at three levels: by the district administration, the police, and the health department. He promised that those found guilty would face severe consequences.
Around 10.20 p.m. on Friday, the fire started, and the hospital administration and authorities were notified right away. Window panes were broken open to rescue the newborns from the NICU.
“The identities of all 49 newborns in the NICU have been confirmed. The post-mortem of the 10 newborns who perished in the fire has commenced,” said Dr N S Sengar, principal of the medical college.
The infants who made it through the fire have been sent to a different ward in the district hospital, the medical college, and private institutions. The remaining 39 infants, who did not suffer burn injuries, are said to be in stable condition.
According to the principal, every fire extinguisher that was placed in the ward was in working order and was utilised to put out the fire. In June, there had been a practice drill.
“We had developed a detailed plan for responding to fire incidents. The medical college was divided into three sections, each supervised by a professor. All staff members were trained on fire response protocols, which proved helpful during this incident,” said the principal.
While attempting to save the newborns and extinguish the fire, a nurse identified as Meghna sustained burn injuries to her leg. She is currently undergoing treatment, and her condition is stable, he said.
The principal also mentioned that they intended to move to a newly built 51-bed NICU ward in less than a month. He explained, “The new ward was constructed to accommodate more capacity.” About ten years ago, work on building the new NICU unit with the newest amenities started.
