Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of 10 newborn babies at a neonatal unit in Maharani Lakshmibai Medical College during the late hours of Friday. The prime minister announced a solatium of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the deceased.
Condoling the incident, Modi tweeted, “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." Modi added, “The local administration, under the supervision of the state government, is making every possible effort for relief and rescue.”
#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Visuals from Jhansi Medical College, where a massive fire broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) last night.
— ANI (@ANI) November 16, 2024
The fire claimed the lives of 10 newborns pic.twitter.com/IL8gjieJOK
The PMO said Prime Minister Modi has announced a solatium of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund to kin of the deceased; Rs 50,000 will be provided for those injured in the fire at the Jhansi Medical College.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered a swift probe into the case. The CM also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for families of the deceased. The CM has directed the divisional commissioner and DIG of Jhansi to submit a report regarding the incident within 12 hours.
At least 10 children died in the tragic fire at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in the medical college. According to authorities, 49 babies were in the NICU and 39 newborns were rescued. Allegedly, the fire alarm did not go off and this delayed rescue efforts.
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Sachin Mahor, Chief Medical Superintendent at Jhansi Medical College said, "The fire broke out due to a short circuit between 10.30-10.45pm on Friday. There were 49 babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU); 39 were rescued and 10 babies died. As of now, all the rescued babies are stable. The bodies of three babies are yet to be identified,” ANI reported. Mahor added the process of identifying the three children is underway.
UP Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak who visited the hospital said probe is underway to ascertain the cause of the fire. Pathak told reporters that a fire safety audit was conducted in February and a mock drill was done in June. However, the cause of fire can be ascertained only once the probe report comes, he said.
