One newborn died and two others suffered burn injuries after a warmer machine allegedly caught fire in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of a district hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara in the wee hours of Saturday, officials said.
The incident occurred around 2 am when sparks from the warmer machine's filament allegedly triggered the fire in the Chhindwara district hospital. The hospital staff used firefighting equipment to douse the blaze, officials said.
Of the 33 babies in the NICU, 30 were safely evacuated by hospital staff and security personnel using fire extinguishers. The injured babies were referred to Jabalpur for further treatment.
District hospital's civil surgeon Kanchan Dubey said all three newborns received primary treatment and were referred to Jabalpur for better medical care.
"At around 1:50 am, a spark occurred in the filament of a warmer used in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), causing the warmer to catch fire. Consequently, three newborns sustained burns," Dubey told ANI.
"Specialists, including the Dean and Medical Superintendent of Chhindwara District Medical College, were called in to examine them. Following the assessment, all three newborns were referred to Jabalpur Medical College for advanced treatment," she added.
One of them was in a critical condition and required surgery. Since a paediatric surgeon was unavailable in Chhindwara, the newborn was referred to Jabalpur, Dube said.
The child died during treatment.
Authorities are investigating the incident to ascertain the cause of the fire and reviewing the hospital's fire-safety measures.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Umang Singhar targeted the BJP government in the state over the incident.
In a post on X, Singhar alleged that hospitals were becoming a threat to lives under the BJP government and demanded an immediate fire safety audit of all hospitals in the state.
He also urged Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to ensure the safety of patients.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)