35 babies rescued after fire breaks out in Morena hospital

Thirty-five newborn babies had a narrow escape after a fire broke out in the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of Morena government hospital on Sunday.

The babies were safe and had been shifted to Gwalior hospitals, chief medical and health officer Dr GS Rajput told Hindustan Times over phone.

The incident occurred a day after an infant died at Indore’s MY Hospital after staffers accidentally administered nitrous oxide instead of oxygen during a surgery conducted at its paediatric intensive care unit.

The Morena hospital officials said a short-circuit in the air-conditioner (AC) in the ward led to the fire and smoke.

When the hospital staff and parents spotted the fire, they broke open the windows of the ward and rescued the babies.

The chief medical officer said 15 babies had been shifted to the Gwalior medical college and 20 others to the district hospital.

“Two fire tenders reached the hospital premises and put out the fire,” he said.

The incident has raised questions over fire safety and issues related to maintenance of wiring and ACs.

In January, 20 women and their newborn babies had to be evacuated from the post-operative care maternity ward of the government district hospital in Shivpuri district after there was a short-circuit in the electricity supply lines.

Last year, there was a similar short-circuiting in the Shivpuri hospital, following which the hospital administration lodged a complaint against the Madhya Pradesh electricity board.