Ten newborn babies perish in hospital blaze

Bhandara: In a horrific tragedy, ten newborn babies died after a fire broke out at a neo-natal care ward of a state-run hospital at Bhandara in eastern Maharashtra in the early hours of Saturday. The staff managed to rescue seven of the 17 babies in the ward.

While the cause was suspected to be a short circuit or malfunctioning air-conditioning unit and the state government ordered probe by fire experts, a BJP leader alleged that there were complaints about power fluctuations in the ward, but no action was taken. Those responsible shall not be spared, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said.

A fire audit of all the hospitals in the state has been ordered, he informed. Calling the incident "heart-wrenching and mind- numbing", Thackeray said a new wing for children had been opened at the district hospital in 2015 and it will be probed whether a fire audit of the new building had been carried out.

He also announced aid of Rs 5 lakh for family members of deceased babies. The deceased infants -- eight girls and two boys -- were aged between one month and three months, a doctor said.