Delhi baby hospital fire tragedy: Grieving parents recall horror, demand justice
Distraught parents and family members of the seven infants who were killed in a fire at the Baby Care New Born hospital in East Delhi’s Vivek Vihar on Saturday are demanding justice from the authorities for their tragic loss.
One of the grieving parents alleged that every official visiting the hospital after the incident is “tightlipped”.
“They have no answer if the hospital was legal. If the hospital was having any no objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department,” said Ritik, who lost his 10-day-old child, as quoted by PTI.
Another parent said that his deceased daughter was born at another hospital on May 15. However, she was admitted to the hospital after she developed health issues.
“Allah ko pyaari ho gayi meri beti,” the inconsolable father said.
Tragedy struck again for one of the parents, a labourer, after five years. “I lost my son five years ago. On Saturday, my newborn son died. What kind of facilities do they have?” he questioned.
In a tragic incident, a massive fire broke out at the hospital around 11:30 pm on Saturday and spread to two other adjacent buildings, claiming the lives of at least seven babies. While, five other babies are undergoing treatment who have received minor burn injuries.
Hospital’s licence expired, no fire extinguishers installed
According to the police, the licence of the hospital expired on March 31 this year. Additionally, the previous license issued to the medical facility was allowed for only five beds. However, at the time of the fire incident, 12 newborn children were admitted to the hospital.
The police also informed that the doctors appointed at the hospital were not qualified to treat a newborn child in need of Neo-Natal Incentive care, as they are BAMS degree holders only.
The police did not find any emergency exits or fire extinguishers installed on the hospital premises in case of such incidents. According to the director of the Delhi fire department, Atul Garg, the hospital building most likely did not possess a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) issued by the fire department.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police detained the medical facility’s owner, Dr Naveen Khichi, who had absconded after the fire broke out.