A fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital has led to the death of at least 15 newborn babies, one of the deadliest hospital tragedies in Pakistan in recent years. The fire broke out early Wednesday morning at the nursery of the Mother and Child Health Centre of the hospital in Islamabad, where medical staff, patients and families were left scrambling to save babies from the ward’s inferno.
The fire erupted on the third floor of the hospital at 7 a.m. local time, according to officials and local media reports. Emergency response teams, including firefighters, police personnel and medical staff, rushed to the scene after receiving distress calls. The fire was put out, but not before causing catastrophic loss of life in the nursery ward. Rescue workers continued to cool and check after the fire was extinguished.
According to initial investigations, the fire may have started because of an explosion or a malfunction in an air-conditioning compressor in the nursery. The exact cause is yet to be determined and will be determined through forensic assessment. At the time of the incident, the ward was home to approximately 16 newborns, and at least one child was saved.
The tragedy has brought national grief and raised fears over public healthcare facilities’ safety standards. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep sorrow at the deaths and ordered an immediate investigation into the incident. A committee was established to investigate the causes of the fire, look for possible negligence and recommend how to prevent another disaster like this.
Witnesses reported chaos in hospitals as hospital workers rushed to save infants and evacuate patients from nearby wards. Emergency services and emergency vehicles were sent to the hospital, and worried relatives stood outside to hear of their loved ones. Emergency workers worked through the smoke and debris as authorities secured the hospital building and closed off areas around the hospital covered in fire and smoke.
The disaster has once again raised issues of public health officials’ fire safety and emergency preparedness about hospitals. Many public hospitals in the region are ageing and have ageing infrastructure and electrical systems and are therefore more prone to accidents if they are not properly maintained. Obviously, the investigation will be about whether equipment failure and maintenance problems were to blame for the disaster.
The newborn babies are now buried in Pakistan, and the families are grieving; the government has offered full support and said they will hold those accountable in the future for what went wrong. The tragedy has rocked the country and governments, and people have called for improved hospital safety measures so that such a tragic event does not happen again.
