3 newborns dead as ventilator blast causes massive fire at Maharashtra hospital
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "3 newborns dead as ventilator blast causes massive fire at Maharashtra hospital")
Fire in a hospital of Amravati district of Maharashtra. Photograph: (ANI)
Hospital staff succeeded in evacuating several infants from the ward, with six of them subsequently moved to a super-speciality facility for continued care. Police arrived at the scene and began an initial investigation, though the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
Three newborn babies have died after a fire broke out in the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the District Women’s Hospital in Amravati in the early hours of Monday. The incident occurred at around 3:30 am, triggering a frantic evacuation operation inside the hospital.
According to the latest reports,39 newborns were admitted to the SNCU when the fire broke out. Doctors, nurses and other hospital staff rushed to the unit and began evacuating the babies from the affected area. Medical equipment was disconnected and the newborns were moved to safer locations.
Three infants died after suffering severe burns and smoke inhalation. Six critically affected newborns were shifted to a nearby Super Speciality Hospitalfor further treatment. The condition of the remaining babies is being monitored as authorities assess the full impact of the incident.
What caused the fire?
The exact cause of the blaze is yet to be officially established. Initial reports said the fire may have followed an electrical fault, while the latest reports indicate that aventilator reportedly explodedin the neonatal unit. An investigation is expected to establish whether an electrical malfunction, equipment failure or another factor triggered the blaze.
The incident has once again brought hospital fire safety into focus, particularly in neonatal units where many patients are premature, critically ill or dependent on equipment for basic life support.
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Amravati has witnessed a similar incident before
Monday's tragedy is particularly significant because the same Amravati hospital witnessed a fire-related emergency inSeptember 2022. At that time, a fire broke out in the NICU of the government-run hospital, where37 newborns were being treated. Twelve infants who were on ventilator support were among those rescued. Hospital staff and firefighters managed to evacuate the babies safely, and there were no reported deaths in that incident.
There was also a fatal neonatal fire in Amravati in May 2017. Four newborn babies lost their lives after a short circuit reportedly triggered a fire involving an incubator at Punjabrao Deshmukh Hospital and Medical College. The incident was part of a series of neonatal-unit fires reported in the Vidarbha region.
Maharashtra's history of deadly neonatal fires
The latest tragedy also recalls the devastating Bhandara hospital fire of January 2021, when 10 newborn babies died after a fire broke out in the Special Newborn Care Unit of the district hospital. Seventeen infants were inside the unit at the time, and seven were rescued. Reports said several of the babies died from smoke inhalation and burns.
In Amravati, authorities are now expected to investigate the precise cause of Monday's fire, assess whether all mandatory fire-safety systems were functional and determine whether any lapses contributed to the deaths.
The investigation will also be crucial in establishing accountability and preventing another tragedy in a unit meant to protect the hospital's most vulnerable patients.
