A devastating fire broke out late Friday night in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmibai Medical College, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, tragically claiming the lives of at least 10 newborns due to burns and suffocation. Deputy Chief Minister Brijesh Pathak, who visited the hospital on Saturday, stated that the NICU was overcrowded, housing 49 children despite a capacity of only 18 beds. Seven of the deceased have been identified, while efforts continue to identify the remaining three and notify their families.
Seventeen injured infants are receiving treatment in the hospital’s emergency ward and at private facilities, with seven admitted to private hospitals. Alok Singh, Additional Director General of Police (Kanpur Zone), confirmed that 47 infants were in the NICU during the fire, with 37 successfully rescued.
Visuals of the rescued newborns, blurred for privacy, were shared by ANI, highlighting the critical condition of some survivors.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his profound sorrow, calling the incident “heartbreaking” and extending condolences to the bereaved families. He assured that the state administration is actively working on relief and rescue efforts. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath described the tragedy as “extremely sad” and directed the divisional commissioner and deputy inspector general of police in Jhansi to conduct an inquiry and report findings within 12 hours.
The state government has initiated a magisterial inquiry and announced financial assistance of ₹500,000 for the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 for those with injured children. Deputy CM Pathak confirmed that the state will also bear the treatment costs for four children admitted to private hospitals.
