A fire at a maternity ward in the Pakistani capital on Wednesday morning killed 14 infants, with witnesses saying rescue was delayed. This was reported by infohub.kz.
The blaze erupted at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital in Islamabad. Parents said they waited hours for help. Hivsa Walid was near the room with her sister-in-law, who had given birth days earlier. She initially heard a shout and thought a patient had died, but then saw smoke. They fled with the baby. "We didn't even think about our belongings. We just grabbed the baby and rushed downstairs. Some patients had delivered their babies just that night. I don't even know how we managed to get down - it was all a blur," she said.
The fire broke out in an air-conditioning unit on the third floor of the mother and child unit. Only one of the 15 babies present was saved. Khurram Mehmood, 40, told AFP there was a long wait for rescue workers. "I lost my daughter. She was only three days old," he said. Jaweria, the mother of another victim, told AFP the door to the maternity ward was locked. "For two hours I kept crying and wailing," she said. "Police arrived after four hours and said they are here to investigate. Why did the doctors leave the children there? To hell with you, rescue team and police. Babies burnt to death there, but nobody could save them."
Rana Imran Sikander, the hospital's executive director, told the BBC the ward's door was not locked but was manned, citing the need to protect babies from being stolen. Islamabad's Chief Commissioner Sohail Ashraf said rescue teams reached the scene immediately after the emergency call, according to AFP.
PIMS is one of the biggest hospitals in Pakistan's capital, with 156 beds in its maternal and child health unit. Pakistan has dealt with a number of major fires in recent years, with poor safety laws and lax enforcement often blamed for steep death tolls. Survivors of a fire that killed dozens at a Karachi shopping mall in January said locked exits likely contributed to the high number of fatalities.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his "deep sorrow and heartfelt regret" over the blaze and instructed authorities to conduct an immediate investigation. He also suspended Federal Health Secretary Aslam Ghauri. "Such a situation with children is irreparable," the statement said.