Ventilator blast triggers fire in Amravati hospital, 3 newborns die

Three newborns died in a fire at the NICU of a hospital in Amravati, Maharashtra. The blaze reportedly started from a ventilator explosion. Staff rescued several other infants. A similar incident in Madhya Pradesh left three babies injured.

Fire in Amravati Hospital NICU

Three newborns died after a fire broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the District Women's Hospital in Amravati in the early hours of Monday.

According to preliminary information, the fire erupted at around 3.30 am on the third floor of the hospital, reportedly following an explosion in a ventilator inside the neonatal unit. Doctors, nurses and other staff on duty immediately launched an evacuation operation and managed to rescue several infants from the ward. Around 39 newborns were reportedly admitted to the unit at the time of the incident.

However, three babies suffered fatal burn injuries in the blaze. Six infants have been shifted to the Super Speciality Hospital for further treatment. The timely response of the hospital staff helped save several other newborns. Further details regarding the cause of the fire and the condition of the rescued infants are awaited.

Similar Incident in Madhya Pradesh

Earlier, in a separate incident, three newborns sustained burn injuries after a fire broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Chhindwara District Hospital, Madhya Pradesh, in the early hours of Saturday, officials said.

Civil Surgeon of the district hospital, Kanchan Dubey, said the incident occurred at around 1:50 am when a spark in the filament of a warmer used in the NICU caused the equipment to catch fire, resulting in burn injuries to three newborns. "There were 30 other children there, making a total of 33. Three babies were affected and the remaining 30 were immediately shifted to safety by our staff, including nurses and guards, who acted promptly and saved their lives," she said. (ANI)

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