Jhansi Medical College Fire tragedy: Authorities said that at least 10 children died in a fire that broke out in the children’s ward of a medical college in the Jhansi district of Uttar Pradesh, and 16 people were struggling to survive on Saturday. Some of the children in the outer part of the NICU as well as the children in the inner part were rescued. Images purportedly from the medical school showed panicked patients and their caregivers being evacuated, although large numbers of police personnel assisted with rescue and relief measures.

District Magistrate (DM) Avinash Kumar said that the fire was probably caused by an electrical short circuit in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College around 10.45 pm on Friday. Kumar said less critical patients were admitted to the outer section of the NICU, while more critical patients were kept in the inner section.

Prime minister Yogi Adityanath According to a statement issued in Lucknow, he was informed of the incident and directed district administration officials to ensure proper treatment of the injured. “The death of children in the accident that occurred in the NICU of the medical college in Jhansi district is extremely sad and heartbreaking. The district administration and relevant authorities have been instructed to carry out relief and rescue operations on a war footing.” The statement said in Hindi about X that Adityanath directed District Commissioner Bimal Kumar Dubey and Deputy Inspector General (Jhansi police station) Kalanidhi Naithani to submit a report on the matter within 12 hours.

UP Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak stated that the incident was extremely heartbreaking and said, “A fire safety inspection was carried out in February. A trial drill was held in June. How this incident happened, why it happened, we can only say something about it once. The investigation report has arrived.” ..The bodies of 7 newborns have been identified, the identities of 3 bodies have not been determined yet…financial support will be provided to the families of the newborns…”

Earlier on Saturday, SSP Sudha Singh told reporters that 16 injured children were receiving treatment and efforts were on to save their lives. He said all doctors were available for them along with adequate medical facilities. On the cause of the incident, the SSP echoed the DM’s words, saying prima facie the fire appeared to have been triggered by a short circuit.

The government-run medical college was started in 1968 and is one of the largest government hospitals in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh.