Hyderabad: Fire breaks out at hospital, four month-old infant dies

Hyderabad: A four-month-old child died and five others were injured in a fire that broke out at a private hospital at L.B. Nagar in Hyderabad on Monday, police said.

The fire broke out in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) on the fourth floor of Shine Children's Hospital in the early hours of the day. Six infants, who were in incubators, sustained burn injuries. One of them died, while the others were shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Fire Department personnel, who rushed to douse the flames, broke open glass panes to rescue the children from the NICU. Out of the six children, one succumbed to the injuries.

Forty other children undergoing treatment on other floors of the hospital were shifted to various hospitals in the city.

Police suspect short circuit to be the cause of the fire. Taking a serious note of the incident, Telangana government ordered a probe. Health Minister Etela Rajender directed the officials to probe the incident and submit a report within 24 hours.

Parents of the children alleged that the negligence by the hospital administration led to the fire. They demanded stern action against the hospital management.

Local legislator Sudheer Reddy visited the hospital and sought a thorough probe into the incident.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ramchandra Rao and others also visited the scene. Rao blamed the authorities saying they failed to act against hospitals not following the fire safety norms.