Three newborns died after a fire broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the District Women's Hospital in Maharashtra's Amravati city early Monday, officials said.
As many as 36 other infants were rescued and shifted to other hospitals following the blaze, which erupted in the NICU housing premature and critically ill babies.
Amravati Police Commissioner Rakesh Ola said a ventilator in the outborn babies' section of the NICU caught fire around 3.15 am. Of the nine infants admitted in that section, three died while the remaining six were rescued.
The NICU has three sections for inborn babies, outborn babies and step-down care. A total of 39 infants were admitted across the three sections when the fire broke out.
Hospital staff rushed to the spot and evacuated the other infants safely. Six babies were later admitted to a super-speciality hospital, while some others were shifted to the Divisional Referral Services Hospital. Four infants were being treated there, with one reported to be in critical condition.
The bodies of the three newborns were sent for postmortem.
Fire officials and the electrical wing of the Public Works Department have been asked to determine the cause of the blaze, Ola said.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday ordered a high-level inquiry into the fire accident.
The state government will provide Rs 5 lakh in financial assistance to the family of each deceased child, Fadnavis said in a statement.
Fadnavis said the incident was "extremely tragic and heartbreaking" and expressed solidarity with the families of the deceased. Fortunately, 36 children were rescued safely from the hospital during the incident, he noted.
The health administration has been directed to conduct a high-level inquiry, the CM said, and assured that the strictest action would be taken against those found responsible for the tragedy.
He directed the state health minister and health secretary to visit Amravati on Monday to take stock of the situation.
Fadnavis also directed the Amravati district administration to ensure that the injured children receive treatment at government expense.
The incident triggered anger among parents and opposition leaders, who demanded strict action against those responsible and called for fire and electrical audits of hospitals across Maharashtra.
Senior NCP (SP) leader and former state home minister Anil Deshmukh demanded immediate action against those responsible for the alleged negligence and sought fire and electrical audits of hospitals across the state.
"Today, a mountain of sorrow has crashed down upon the parents of these children, and we all stand in solidarity with them in their grief," the Opposition leader said in a post on X.
(With inputs from PTI)