Fire Breaks Out at Islamabad’s PIMS Hospital Nursery Ward, Resulting in Deaths of 14 Newborns
ISLAMABAD:In Islamabad, 14 newborn babies lost their lives and devastated families endured the tragedy of a fire that broke out in the nursery ward of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital.
Rescue officials said that the fire started on the third floor of the Mother and Child Health (MCH) facility attached to the gynaecology ward. When the fire broke out there were 15 babies in the nursery; a lady doctor was able to save only one child. The dead children’s identities were revealed from the hospital records showing that twin children of a citizen named Bahadur were also included in the dead. Six fire tenders were used to put out the blaze and cooling was started. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but rescue workers were able to evacuate and bring 19 people, including women, to safety. The whole technical team deployed in the children ward in the PIMS hospital was suspended after the tragedy.
Inquiry Committee was established and high-level oversight was gained.
In response to the disaster, an inquiry committee has been set up, which has an 8 member composition led by Additional Deputy Commissioner General. The district administration has issued a formal notification about the committee’s membership, including the director general of capital emergency services, the SP city, assistant commissioner for I-9, the director general of capital development authority (CDA) and officers of Islamabad electric supply company (IESCO) and PIMS hospital. The inquiry committee has been called upon to finish its investigation and present a comprehensive report within 24 hours. Chief Commissioner and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ali Nasir Rizvi personally supervised the rescue and relief efforts at the PIMS hospital.
The management of their hospital and the grieving parents.The hospital management and the grieving parents.
The parents of the victims were shocked, distraught and in grief at the hospital. An eye witness woman reported that rescuers were late to the scene after the fire erupted, saying that infants died in their presence as parents ran for the exits with children that survived. Distressed parents made demands of the hospital management, which included the absence of duty gynecologists and a lack of staff in the nursery and that the door of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) was locked. In addition, families were also asking for DNA testing to better determine who might have been killed.
Dr. Rana Imran Sikandar, Executive Director of PIMS stated that there was a medical staff at the time of the fire, two doctors, four nurses, and one doctor had saved one baby. He said that entries had been previously limited because of past incidents of infants being stolen from the hospital and indicated to the public that the hospital has working fire safety systems and said that anybody found responsible will be held accountable. He further reported on the presence of 24 oxygen cylinders and said that there was no internal obstruction for the rescue effort.
Condolences and National Leaders’ Reactions
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed a sense of grief and sorrow for the loss of 14 newborns. President Zardari described the losses as “heartbreaking and irreparable” and called for the identification of those responsible and punishing them. The incident was taken seriously by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who directed an immediate and comprehensive investigation of the incident and impose strict punishment on the negligent parties, expressing heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. Federal Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi and Federal Minister for Health Mustafa Kamal also showed grave sympathy, the latter adding that formal investigation will determine if negligence or lack of duty of duty personnel was a factor in the tragedy. Moreover, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif showed deep sorrow for the incident at PIMS and tasked the commissioners and deputy commissioners in the province to conduct an examination and check the functional readiness of fire safety appliances in all medical institutions.