Of the 39 children rescued from the fire that broke out in the NICU ward of Maharani Laxmibai Medical College in Jhansi on Friday night, three more children died by Wednesday evening, taking the death toll to 15. Giving information, Medical College Principal Dr Narendra Singh Sengar said that these three children died between Tuesday night and Wednesday evening.
He said that 10 children had died due to suffocation and burns in the fire incident, while the five children who lost their lives recently were suffering from serious diseases. One of these children weighed only 800 grams at birth, while the other child had a hole in his heart.
The fire broke out on Friday night
10 newborn babies died due to a massive fire in the NICU ward of Maharani Laxmibai Medical College on Friday night. After receiving information about the incident, police and army personnel reached the spot. The fire was so fierce that the soldiers could not go inside due to its flames, but later they were successful in saving some children by breaking the windows and doors.
After the incident, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognizance and announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased children and Rs 50,000 each to the families of the injured children. Giving information on the compensation amount, Jhansi DM Avinash Kumar said that the money has been sent to the accounts of the families of 9 out of 10 children.
Orders for magisterial inquiry also given
After the incident, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak visited the medical college and met the families of the deceased children. Describing the incident as very unfortunate, he said that the government is making efforts with the families to ensure the identification of the deceased.
While ordering an inquiry in this case, the Deputy CM had said that it would be investigated at three levels. The health department will conduct an administrative inquiry into the incident, apart from this the police administration will also investigate and the fire department will conduct a separate investigation. Pathak had also ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.
