10 newborn babies killed in Maharashtra hospital fire

A fire at a hospital in India's Maharashtra has left 10 newborn babies dead in the early hours of Saturday.

Seventeen babies were admitted at the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the four-storeyed hospital in Maharashtra's Bhandara district, about 900 km from the state capital Mumbai, at the time of the incident, reports NDTV.

Seven of them, who were admitted to the inborn ward of the unit, were rescued by the firefighters but those in the outbound ward couldn't be rescued. They died due to suffocation.

Heart-wrenching tragedy in Bhandara, Maharashtra, where we have lost precious young lives. My thoughts are with all the bereaved families. I hope the injured recover as early as possible.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 9, 2021

 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences over the deaths, calling the incident a "heart-wrenching tragedy".

"Heart-wrenching tragedy in Bhandara, Maharashtra, where we have lost precious young lives. My thoughts are with all the bereaved families. I hope the injured recover as early as possible (sic)," Modi tweeted.

All the infants were between a month and three months old, a doctor was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Nurses of duty first noticed smoke coming out from the neonatal care unit, according to reports, and raised alarm.