00:01At least 14 newborns died Wednesday after a fire broke out at a nursery in a major government
00:07hospital in Islamabad. The blaze erupted at around 7 a.m. on the third floor of the Maternal
00:14and Child Health Ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, where 15 babies were
00:20being treated. Authorities had earlier said the fire was brought under control shortly
00:25after it broke out, with 14 severely burned babies transferred to an intensive care unit.
00:32However, Prime Minister Shabazz Sharif's office later confirmed the deaths and expressed condolences
00:38to the victims' families. The hospital said the fire appeared to have been caused by a short circuit,
00:44while other media reports said a malfunction in the hospital's air conditioning system
00:49may have triggered the blaze.
00:55This father of a fire victim said the condition of the ward was bad and highlighted that the
01:00hospital building had no fire security or proper exits. He said all the doors were closed with
01:07only one door opened for those visiting the patients, as the hospital authorities feared
01:12that people would visit the patients too often. Authorities said they had formed an inquiry committee
01:18to determine the circumstances surrounding the fire and examine whether negligence or failures
01:23in the hospital's safety systems contributed to the deaths.
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