10 newborn babies die in India after fire rips through hospital neonatal unit

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Ten newborn babies died from burns and suffocation after a fire swept through a neonatal intensive care unit in northern India, a government official said on Saturday.

The blaze broke out late on Friday at the Maharani Laxmibai Medical College in Jhansi district about 180 miles southwest of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state.

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Emergency responders rescued 38 newborns from the ward, which housed 49 infants at the time of the incident, said state Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak.

Police officers examine the damaged neonatal intensive care unit after a fire broke out at the Maharani Laxmibai Medical College in Jhansi district, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, Saturday.  (REUTERS/Stringer)

“Seventeen of the injured are receiving treatment in different wings and some private hospitals,” Pathak told reporters in Jhansi. Seven of the deceased infants have been identified, while the authorities are working to identify the remaining three, he said.

One infant remains missing, said a government official who asked not to be identified as he is not authorised to speak to media.

The cause of the fire remains unknown. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered an inquiry into the incident.

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences over the “heart-wrenching” incident.

“My deepest condolences to those who lost their innocent children in this,” Modi posted on the X platform. “I pray to God to give them the strength to bear this immense loss.”