ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Fourteen infants were killed in a fire that broke out in the gynaecology ward of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) early on Wednesday.
What has happened so far:
14 babies die after fire erupts in ward; initial reports say spark erupted from AC, blaze spread due to oxygen points
Bereaved families decry rescue teams arrived “too late”; witnesses report locked doors
Health secretary removed; inquiry panel formed on PM’s orders; separate fact-finding committee constituted
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal vows accountability; Tallal Chaudhry defends district administration
Condolences from across the nation, other countries pour in
Footage showed rescue workers using ladders to reach broken windows to access the affected area and grief-stricken women sitting on the ground outside the hospital. An AFP reporter saw a woman in tears and a man clear glass from two broken windows, as security guards stood at the entrance to the medical facility.
Several witnesses, their hands and faces blackened from the smoke, told AFP they waited hours for help from the emergency services. They were forced to smash through windows to try and get to the neonatal intensive care unit.
Others said they came across locked doors and alleged guards prevented those inside the building from leaving as the fire raged.
However, the hospital disputed this in a statement issued later in the evening. “All emergency exits were fully open and operational,” it asserted.
In a statement, the Islamabad administration said that the fire broke out on the third floor of the Mother and Child Hospital’s ward. It said that rescue teams rushed to the scene, with six fire brigade vehicles and four ambulances taking part in the rescue operation.
“The fire was immediately brought under control and the children were immediately shifted to the intensive care unit,” it said, adding that 14 children “were completely burnt”.
Pims Spokesperson Dr Aneeza Jalil told Dawn that 15 babies were in the ward. “At least one baby was saved by a doctor,” she said.
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal, who reached Islamabad from Karachi in the afternoon, vowed that “no one responsible for negligence, including me, will be spared”.
“The tragic fire incident at Pims MCH Centre, resulting in the loss of precious neonatal lives, is deeply heartbreaking,” the public hospital said.
Citing a preliminary report, the Pims statement said the incident was “initially caused by a spark inside nursery at 06:38am and within seconds a massive fire erupted due to oxygen points at each incubator”.
It said two doctors and two nurses on duty inside the nursery responded “immediately and called security staff, who joined in and tried to get in twice [to bring] babies out until 06:39am, when a huge blast occurred and ceilings fell down”.
The statement said the duty staff managed to rescue a baby in the nursery and four in an adjacent room, along with three mothers.
“Besides immediate response, staff managed rescue of 73 other admitted patients in the adjacent Gynae ward on the same floor within minutes,” it added.
The hospital asserted that “available fire safety equipment installed, including 35 fire extinguishers, were all utilised by the staff to contain the situation”.
Health minister vows accountability
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, the health minister said he will present himself to his superiors for accountability.
Providing details of the incident, Kamal said: “At 6:38am, it can be seen in the CCTV footage that there was a spark in the AC, then a fireball could be seen erupting out of it and landing on the floor of the ward. In one minute, at 6:39am, four people, including two nurses and two doctors, could be seen rushing for help and around the same time, the whole room was engulfed in flames”.
The health minister said the incident was being investigated by “experts, different institutions including us”, adding that “nothing will remain hidden and all facts will be unearthed”.
He continued: “Apparently, it seems that 14 out of the 15 infants were connected to oxygen tubes and it was that oxygen which caught flame.”
Kamal reiterated that the “heart-wrenching” incident will be investigated and warned that “if there was any negligence, then as I said, we will not spare them, including myself”.
The minister further said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had instructed him “not to speak about certain issues”. He said he would be meeting the premier and that the two had been in touch.
“Everyone is on board, and the findings will be presented,” he said.
On being asked if he was going to tender his resignation, the health minister said, “As I have said before, whoever is responsible [..] they will not be spared. I have said what I can, and I wish I could say more, but the prime minister is my boss, and whatever his orders will be, I can only say that.”
