6 newborns die in post-operative room at Ad-din Medical College Hospital

Though claims have been made that they were injured in an air conditioner blast, police say they have no information confirming it

At least six newborn babies have reportedly died at Ad-din Medical College Hospital in Dhaka’s Moghbazar.

A hospital official says the children died between Tuesday night and early on Wednesday morning. The causes of death are not yet clear.

Senior police officials rushed to the hospital on Wednesday morning when informed about the deaths.

Ramna Divisional Police Deputy Commissioner Sheikh Zahidul Islam said, "We came after receiving reports of the unnatural deaths of six children in the post-operative room. These children were one to two days old."

A television report has claimed that the six newborns died to a “gas leak” in the neonatal ward. Social media posts allege there was an air conditioner explosion in the building.

But Deputy Commissioner Zahidul said the initial investigation did not find any evidence of an air conditioner explosion.

Eleven mothers and six children were at the post-operative room at the hospital overnight, said Mazharul Islam, assistant commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Ramna Zone.

“What we have learnt after speaking to the hospital is that several mothers reported discomfort around 2am. They seemed to be having breathing difficulties. Around 4am, the air conditioner shut off for some reason. Then, around 6am, a child died. The other infants died one by one.”

A Criminal Investigation Department (CID) team is investigating the causes of their deaths, he said.

Hospital 'Deeply Apologises' for Deaths

The hospital authorities have presented their “deep apologies” following the deaths.

“We are deeply shocked by this sudden incident,” said a statement signed by Tariqul Islam Mukul, director of HR & Company Affairs at the Ad-din Foundation.

The statement said, “An initial investigation into the incident revealed that around 2am on May 26, 2026, the air-conditioning units in Post Operative Ward-2, located on the 2nd floor of the hospital, were switched on, but the mothers of several newborn babies asked for them to be turned off.

At one point, the nurses on duty turned them off.

“The AC was turned on again around 3am. Then, at around 4am, when one baby started crying in an unusual manner, they were quickly taken to the NICU. In turn, the five other babies were also quickly taken to the NICU.”

The first baby died around 6am, while the five others died between 6am and 9am, it said.

The mothers who had just delivered their newborns had been at the ward with the babies. Three nurses had been on duty.

The hospital says police and the government are investigating the incident and that it is “fully cooperating with the relevant departments of the government regarding why such a tragic and unfortunate accident occurred”.

An internal investigation into the incident is also under way, it added. “If any negligence or error is identified in connection with the incident, we will definitely take appropriate action. We seek the cooperation of all concerned.”