ISLAMABAD: Locked door and absence of nursing staff caused casualties of infants at the PIMS gynaecology department this morning.
Parents have alleged serious negligence at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences after a nursery fire killed 14 newborns in Islamabad.
They claimed the NICU door remained locked and no nursery staff members were present when the fire erupted.
Rescue sources said an air-conditioner compressor reportedly exploded at 6:45am inside the nursery.
The nursery, located in the hospital’s gynaecology ward, housed 15 newborns, but rescuers saved only one infant.
Families Question Emergency Response
Parents alleged that rescue services arrived nearly two hours after the fire started, while police reached the hospital about four hours later.
An affected woman claimed no doctor or staff member arrived for nearly an hour after the blaze began.
She questioned how such a devastating fire could occur while other hospital areas remained unaffected.
The father of a deceased infant said fire brigades and ambulances arrived around 1.5 hours after the incident.
He added that parents attempted to rescue the newborns themselves before emergency teams arrived.
Survivor’s Family Raises Serious Allegations
The aunt of the only surviving infant said she entered the nursery and carried the baby outside herself.
She alleged that no staff members remained inside and claimed employees fled after the fire erupted.
She later took the infant and the baby’s mother to Polyclinic Hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile, grieving families demanded DNA tests to establish the identities of the deceased infants.
They also sought action against the hospital administration over alleged negligence and poor emergency arrangements.
Some parents claimed authorities had not shown them their children’s clothes or provided sufficient confirmation of their identities.
PIMS fire tragedy indicates serious flaws in the hospital’s working pattern.
