PIMS Hospital: 15 newborns die in horrific fire; Prime Minister expresses anger; case registered

15 newborns were burnt to death in a horrific fire in the nursery of the Mother and Child Health (MCH) ward of the government-run hospital PIMS in the federal capital Islamabad. The details of this tragic accident so far are as follows:
Cause of the accident:
According to rescue sources, the fire broke out at around 6:45 am due to the explosion of an air conditioner (AC) compressor.
According to the initial report of the hospital, a nebulizer that indicates the amount of oxygen in the incubator exploded in the NICU, due to which the oxygen immediately caught fire and it spread rapidly.
The supply of oxygen was stopped due to smoke filling the ward, due to which the innocent children lost their lives due to suffocation and severe burns.
At the time of the incident, a total of 16 children were admitted to the nursery ward. A lady doctor present there risked her life to pull out only one child safely, while the remaining 15 children died.
6 fire brigade vehicles and 4 ambulances participated in the rescue operation and brought the fire under control.
According to eyewitnesses, due to poor rescue arrangements, attempts were made to reach the children by breaking windows.
The bodies of all the deceased children have been handed over to the relatives after DNA testing.
Formation of an inquiry committee: The district administration has formed a high-level inquiry committee headed by the Additional Deputy Commissioner to conduct a transparent investigation into the incident and determine negligence.
Government response:
The President and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep sorrow over the incident and ordered the strictest legal action against those responsible.
Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has also assured that no one will be spared if negligence is proven.
The detailed status of the formation of investigation committees, strictest action against the administration, and statements of the affected families are as follows:
1. Progress towards the final report of the investigation committees; The federal government and the district administration have initiated immediate and strict disciplinary measures considering the seriousness of the incident:
Suspension of senior officials:
Expressing strong anger over the incident, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has immediately suspended Federal Health Secretary Aslam Ghauri from his post for negligence. In addition, the entire technical staff deployed in the children’s ward of PIMS Hospital has also been suspended.
The district administration of Islamabad has formed an 8-member multi-agency fact-finding committee headed by the Additional Deputy Commissioner, which has been ordered to submit a final report within 24 hours. The committee is determining negligence by taking possession of CCTV footage, duty roster and biometric records.
Internal Committee of the Hospital: PIMS Hospital has also formed a 5-member internal inquiry committee headed by Professor Umar Farooq, which will submit its report within 48 hours.
Breach of Fire Safety Protocols: According to initial evidence, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had been issuing notices to PIMS Hospital for the last 7 years to implement fire safety arrangements, but the hospital administration did not take any effective steps despite the warnings. The hospital’s Executive Director Imran Sikandar has admitted that the hospital did not have a regular water system to extinguish the fire, and the staff tried to douse the fire using only 24 fire extinguishers (cylinders). Heartbreaking statements from affected families and eyewitnesses: Grief-stricken parents and eyewitnesses gathered outside the hospital told the media the painful details of the administration’s criminal negligence: Accusation of closing the nursery door: The affected parents tearfully told the BBC and other media outlets that when the fire broke out, the nursery door was closed, and the staff was absent. A distressed father said: “My baby was only three days old. When the fire broke out, we ran inside, but there was a tight guard at the door; no one was going to take our children out.” Hospital administration’s defense: The PIMS administration has denied the parents’ allegations and has taken the stand that the nursery was not locked, but rather there was a tight guard there so that children would not be stolen from the nursery like in the past. The shock of the death of the twins: Formal identification documents of the deceased children have come to light, according to which the twins of a citizen named Bahadur also died in this horrific fire. Escape of staff and testimony of eyewitnesses: Eyewitnesses say that as soon as the air conditioner compressor exploded and the fire broke out due to oxygen pipes, most of the nursery staff left the children there and ran outside. If a brave lady doctor had not risked her life to break a window and pull a child out, all 16 children in the ward would have burned alive. Civil society and the affected families have demanded that the government not end it by making it a mere “paper inquiry”, but register cases of culpable homicide against the negligent doctors, nurses and administrative officers and send them to jail.
It has been revealed that a fire incident had taken place at PIMS Hospital in Islamabad a month ago. According to the document, a fire broke out in the reception area of ​​the PIMS Nursing Hostel at 3 am on July 6, which burnt down 3 sofas kept in the reception area. According to the document, 78 students residing in the hostel were safe during the incident, and no one was injured. The final cause of the fire could not be determined due to the lack of electrical and forensic reports. The federal government has approved an emergency financial package for the families of 14 to 15 newborn babies who died. As per the orders of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a total of Rs 2 million (2 million) will be provided to the families of each child who died in the fire.
An assistance of Rs 500,000 per child has been announced for other children and mothers who were burnt or seriously affected in the accident. The district administration has been directed to provide all the expenses of shifting the bodies to their native places and burial to the affected families from government funds.
After strong reactions from civil society and affected parents, the matter is moving forward on the legal and judicial front. The federal police have registered a formal criminal case against the PIMS Hospital administration, negligent technical staff, and absent staff on duty under Section 322 (culpable homicide/death due to negligence) and the Public Safety Act.
A constitutional petition has been filed in the Islamabad High Court by human rights lawyers, requesting that a judicial inquiry be conducted into the incident, as the hospital administration had been continuously ignoring the Capital Development Authority’s fire safety notices for the past 7 years. On the orders of the Prime Minister, Federal Health Secretary Aslam Ghauri has been suspended from his post, while the NICU in-charge and three officers of the Biomedical Engineering Department have been taken into custody for questioning to find out why the replacement oxygen cylinders and fire hydrants were not working.