Jhansi: A massive fire in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi claimed the lives of ten newborn babies who were charred to death. In a latest update, out of the 16 babies who were rescued and undergoing treatment, one more has succumbed, taking the Jhansi Fire death toll to eleven.

Jhansi Fire Tragedy: Death Toll Rises to 11

As mentioned earlier, the death toll in the Jhansi Fire Tragedy has risen from ten to eleven after one more infant undergoing treatment succumbed to his injuries. The babies in the medical college’s NICU died after a massive fire engulfed the ward; glaring lapses have come to the notice including expired fire extinguishers and absence of emergency exits among other things.

NHRC Takes Suo Moto Cognisance; Seeks Report in a Week

The NHRC on Saturday said it has issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and the state’s police chief in connection with a fire at the children’s ward of a medical college in Jhansi that claimed the lives of 10 newborns. Describing reports of the incident as “disturbing”, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought a detailed report within a week. 

The commission observed that the contents of the reports are “indeed disturbing and indicate negligence” resulting in a “grave violation” of the human rights of the victims as they were in the care of a government institution. In a statement, the NHRC said it has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that at least 10 newborns died in the fire that broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Maharani Laxmibai Medical College on Friday night.

The report should include the status of the FIR registered in the matter, action taken against officials responsible, the medical treatment being provided to the injured and compensation, if any, paid to the aggrieved families, it said. The commission said it would also like to know about the steps taken or proposed by the authorities to ensure that such incidents do not recur.

Jhansi Medical College Fire: Glaring Lapses Exposed

• Fire Extinguishers Expired: 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.
• Safety Alarms Not Working: The safety alarms that should have gone off after a fire, did not go off and were dysfunctional and the people could not be warned.
• Process of Evacuation Delayed: Construction was going on around the concerned area and so the evacuation process was delayed; the fire alarms were also non-functional.
• Absence of Emergency Exits: Lack of emergency exits at the medical college was another major lapse that led to the escalation of the fire in the hospital’s NICU; since there were no emergency exits, babies were evacuated through a small window.
• Oxygen Cylinders of Poor Quality: Despite being a functional hospital and medical college, the oxygen cylinders used were of extremely poor quality and did not help as much as they should have.

(Inputs from PTI)