At least seven newborn babies were killed after a massive fire broke out at New Born Baby Care hospital in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar on Saturday night.
As many as 12 babies were rescued, out of which six died, while one died before the fire call was made, officials said. One infant is on a ventilator and five others are being treated at a hospital.
The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) sent nine fire trucks to the spot to douse the blaze.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Surendra Choudhary said, “All the 12 newborn babies were rescued from the hospital with the help of other people and shifted to East Delhi Advance NICU Hospital in Vivek Vihar for treatment. Meanwhile, fire tenders reached the spot and the fire was controlled. Out of these babies, six were declared brought dead. All 7 dead bodies have been further shifted to GTB Hospital for postmortem.”
The police said that the infants were rescued from the upper floors of the building. Officials said the fire broke out in the three-storey building and the whole building was in flames.
The DFS chief Atul Garg earlier said they received a call about the fire around midnight. “The call was about a fire at a baby care centre. There are multiple babies inside. The firemen are working there. The fire is being doused and the infants are being rescued,” he said soon after the fire broke out.
Videos from the scene show locals helping to rescue the babies. A group of people climbed grill bars and ladders to reach the upper floors, carrying newborns to safety. Officials said the fire spread to nearby buildings but was controlled in time.
Fire officials reached the spot and doused the fire. News agency ANI reported that the fire was completely extinguished.
The infants were taken to the East Delhi Advance NICU hospital after the fire broke out.
Fire Officer Rajesh said to ANI, “At 11:32 pm, Fire Service Control Room received information that fire broke out at a hospital…fire tenders reached the spot and fire has been extinguished completely. 2 buildings were affected by the fire, one is the hospital building and 2 floors of a residential building on the right side also caught fire…11-12 people were rescued and they were taken to hospital. Further details will be shared later.”
The cause of the fire is yet to be found.