UPDATED: January 9, 2021 16:55 IST
The fire brigade was able to save seven infants while 10 died in the tragedy at the district hospital in Bhandara, Maharashtra. (Photo: IndiaToday)
Ten infants were killed in a fire that broke out at a special newborn care unit of the district hospital in Maharashtra s Bhandara on Saturday. The fire broke out around 2am.
Officials said 17 infants, aged one to three months, were admitted in the ward at the time of the tragedy. However, the fire brigade was able to save seven of them.
The Maharashtra government has ordered an investigation into the matter, with home minister Anil Deshmukh rushing to the district to take stock of the situation.
The fire broke out at the Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of Bhandara District General Hospital at 2am on Saturday. (Photo: ANI)
NAGPUR: Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh has ordered an inquiry into the fire incident at the Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of Bhandara District General Hospital.
At least 10 newborn babies were killed and seven others had a miraculous escape after a fire broke out in the wee hours of Saturday.
Deshmukh, who was in Mumbai, flew to Nagpur and headed to Bhandara to visit the hospital. He is also expected to conduct a meeting of the concerned officials of the health department, hospital and police officers.
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2-month-old Girl Victim of Bhandara Hospital Fire Was Set for Discharge
Police officers investigate the scene after a fire broke out at District General Hospital in Bhandara, about 70 km from Nagpur, on January 9, 2021. (AP Photo)
A baby girl who had brought joy to Geeta and Vishwanath Behere (22), despite being born underweight at a private hospital on November 10 last year, was one of the 10 infants who died after a fire broke out in the childcare unit of the state-run Bhandara district hospital in the early hours of Saturday.
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The gloom in the Behere household in Sonzari Tola in Bhandara s Bhojpur area and the pain in the eyes of the people assembled there, especially in that of a 20-year-old tribal woman, is unbearable. The baby daughter of the Beheres was supposed to be discharged in eight days from the Bhandara district hospital, but the fire tragedy has turned their world upside down.
At least 10 premature babies have died after a fire broke out in the neonatal care unit of District General Hospital in Bhandara at around 2 am on Saturday.
Updated Jan 09, 2021 | 11:32 IST
As many as 10 infants died in a fire that broke out at Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of Bhandara District General Hospital at 2 am on Saturday. Eyewitness in Bhandara hospital fire 
Mumbai, Maharashtra: The hospital staff and the fire brigade officials had to break the doors and windows to rescue the children after a fire broke out in the Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of Bhandara District General Hospital in Maharashtra, an eyewitness said.
The ward boy, who was on duty when the fire broke out in the special newborn care unit of the hospital, said that they got a call around 1:45 am about the fire on the first floor. I rushed to the ward and saw smoke and soot everywhere. I called the others who were on duty at that time. we couldn t do much except evacuate the floor, he added.