Four children die in Bhopal hospital fire, high-level probe ordered

Four infants died in a hospital fire in Madhya Pradesh’s capital city Bhopal. The incident took place on Monday night at around 9 pm.

According to state Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang, a fire broke out at the government-run Kamala Nehru Children’s Hospital that claimed the lives of the innocents. 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

A total of 40 children were admitted to the SNCU of Kamala Nehru Children’s Hospital. Of these, 36 were undergoing treatment in different wards.

“Four children died in the fire that broke out in the special newborn care unit (SNCU) ward probably due to a short circuit,” Vishwas Sarang said. “We reached the spot along with others soon after getting information about the incident. It was dark inside the ward. We shifted the children to the adjacent ward,” he said.

As per officials, the fire broke out in the ward on the third floor of the hospital which houses the ICU. The Madhya Pradesh government has ordered a high-level probe into the incident. Earlier, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed grief at the incident terming the incident ‘very sad’. Taking to Twitter he tweeted that three children died at the children’s ward of Kamla Nehru Hospital in Bhopal following an incident of fire.

Chief Minister instructed the administration and rescue personnel to do everything they can to bring the situation under control. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each for the family members of the victims.

Meanwhile, angry family members of some of the infants who were admitted to the hospital alleged that instead of saving the children, the hospital staff fled. Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Kamal Nath termed the incident ‘very painful’ and demanded stern action against those responsible.