Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on Saturday morning regarding the tragic event at a hospital in Jhansi, where a fire claimed the lives of 10 newborns in the children’s ward. The Prime Minister stated that the local administration, under the guidance of the Uttar Pradesh government, is making every effort to ensure relief and rescue operations are effectively underway.
The fire broke out late Friday night in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmibai Medical College, resulting in the deaths of the infants due to burns and asphyxiation. According to Deputy Chief Minister Brijesh Pathak, who visited Jhansi on Saturday, there were 49 children in the ward, which was only equipped to handle 18 beds.
Pathak noted that while the identities of seven of the deceased children have been confirmed, three remain unidentified. Efforts are ongoing to determine their identities and notify their families.
In a post on X, the Prime Minister’s Office shared a message from PM Modi expressing sorrow over the incident. He said, “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 Chief Minister’s Office in Uttar Pradesh has announced an ex gratia payment of ₹5 lakh for the parents of the infants who tragically lost their lives in a recent incident, with ₹50,000 allocated for the families of the injured. This decision comes under the directive of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. According to the CMO statement, the Divisional Commissioner and DIG of Jhansi have been instructed to submit a report on the incident within 12 hours.
Reports indicate that a fire, believed to have originated from a short circuit in an oxygen concentrator, spread quickly within the NICU due to the highly oxygenated atmosphere.
In response to the incident, authorities have initiated multi-level investigations to uncover the root cause of the fire and to determine accountability. The Samajwadi Party has alleged that a short circuit in the machinery occurred Friday afternoon, which went unnoticed by the hospital authorities.
