Jhansi: In an extremely heartbreaking incident, ten newborns lost their lives after the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Jhansi’s Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College was engulfed with fire. While prima facie the fire was triggered by a short circuit, a proper investigation is yet to take place; amid this, a glaring lapse has been highlighted, that is likely a major reason for the spread of the fire and the damage it has caused.

Glaring Lapse Highlighted in Jhansi Medical College Fire

According to Republic, the fire extinguishers used in an attempt to control the fire that broke out in the NICU of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in UP’s Jhansi, ‘did not work’ because they were expired – an expiry date of two years ago was mentioned on the extinguisher. An eyewitness also claimed that the fire extinguisher did not work and the fire could not be controlled, resulting in the death of ten babies.

The fire extinguisher, which the authorities claim were refilled in June and used by the ward boy, bears expiry details and the date mentioned on it is 24th July, 2022.

‘Fire Extinguisher Did Not Work’: Jhansi Fire Eyewitness

Shockingly, the eyewitness also revealed how when the fire broke out, fire extinguishers were used to douse the fire but unfortunately, the fire extinguishers were not working and the fire spread, killing ten babies. 

Recalling the accident, the eyewitness revealed how a resident doctor came rushing from the NICU screaming that a fire has broken out in the ward and the babies need to be saved; the eyewitness also revealed that the doctor’s leg had also caught fire. This is when a chaos happened to take the babies out of the ward.

Jhansi Fire: Cause of Accident

According to a senior police official of the Uttar Pradesh police, the preliminary inquiry revealed that prima facie the fire broke out due to a short circuit inside the children’s ward at the hospital.

However, UP Deputy CM and Health Minister Brajesh Pathak has said in a statement that a multi-level probe will be conducted to find out the cause of the accident. In his words, “There will be three levels of investigation: the first by the Health department, the second by the police and district administration, and the third will be a magisterial inquiry. The most important point is to understand how this tragedy occurred.”