At least 10 newborns tragically lost their lives due to burns and suffocation in a fire that broke out in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmibai Medical College in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, late on Friday night.

Deputy Chief Minister Brijesh Pathak, who visited the hospital on Saturday morning, reported that the ward housed 49 children, exceeding its capacity of 18 beds. He revealed that the identities of seven of the deceased have been confirmed, while efforts are underway to identify the remaining three and notify their families.

Seventeen other infants injured in the fire are receiving treatment in the hospital’s emergency wing and at private facilities, with seven admitted to private hospitals, according to Pathak.

Alok Singh, Additional Director General of Police (Kanpur Zone), stated that 47 infants were present in the NICU during the incident, with 37 rescued.

#WATCH | UP: The newborns who were rescued after a massive fire outbreak at the Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Jhansi Medical College, undergo treatment

(Visual of the rescued newborns blurred)

The fire claimed the lives of 10 newborns pic.twitter.com/OdRdoPFZGZ
— ANI (@ANI) November 16, 2024

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences, describing the tragedy as “heartbreaking.”

"Heartbreaking! The fire accident at Jhansi Medical College in Uttar Pradesh is heart-wrenching. My deepest condolences to those who lost their innocent children in this. I pray to God to give them the strength to bear this immense loss. The local administration, under the supervision of the state government, is making every possible effort for relief and rescue," he said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also expressed profound sorrow over the incident, directing the divisional commissioner and the deputy inspector general of police in Jhansi to conduct an inquiry and submit their findings within 12 hours.

"The death of children in an accident that took place in the NICU of the medical college located in Jhansi district is extremely sad and heartbreaking. District administration and concerned officials have been instructed to conduct relief and rescue operations on a war footing," Adityanath wrote on X, also wishing for the injured to recover quickly.

The Uttar Pradesh government has launched a magisterial inquiry into the tragedy. Adityanath announced financial assistance of 500,000 INR for each family who lost a child and 50,000 INR for those with injured children. Deputy Chief Minister Pathak added that the state will cover the treatment costs of four children admitted to private hospitals.