- By Nidhi Giri
- Sat, 16 Nov 2024 10:38 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Jhansi Hospital Fire: The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday formed a four-member investigation committee of the state Health Department to probe the fire incident at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi in which 10 newborns were killed. The government has also dismissed reports that the facility had expired fire extinguishers. The investigation committee, formed under the chairmanship of DG Medical Education, will give a detailed investigation report of the case in the next seven days, the state government said in a statement.-1731777147309.jpg)
Jhansi Hospital Fire: Here Are The Top Updates
-According to Jhansi District Magistrate Avinash Kumar, the fire broke out around 10.45 pm on Friday in the neonatal wards of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, one of the largest government hospitals in the state's Bundelkhand region, possibly due to an electrical short circuit.
#WATCH | Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh | District Magistrate, Avinash Kumar says, "...7 bodies have been identified and handed over to the relatives. The investigation to identify 3 others is still going on and we are clarifying the situation regarding 1 child. We are talking to their… pic.twitter.com/1oCEmAbH47
— ANI (@ANI) November 16, 2024
-Post-mortem of seven infants was carried out on Saturday while the autopsy of three could not be conducted as their parents have not been identified yet, Additional Superintendent of Police (City) of Jhansi Gyanendra Kumar Singh was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
-Deputy Chief Minister Brijesh Pathak on Saturday dismissed media reports that the medical college had expired fire extinguishers. “All firefighting equipment in the medical college was completely fine," he said in a statement. The Deputy Chief Minister further informed that a fire safety audit was even carried out at the medical college in February and a mock drill was conducted in June. The principal of the medical college, Dr Narendra Singh Sengar, also termed the allegations “baseless".
-President Droupadi Murmu termed the news of the incident “extremely heartbreaking" while Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an assistance of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased. The Uttar Pradesh government has also announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh.
-The incident sparked a political blame game in the state where bypolls to nine Assembly seats will be held on November 20. Opposition parties blamed the BJP government in the state and said the deaths raise serious questions about the negligence of the administration.
-The Congress targeted the CM Yogi Adityanath govt over the incident, with Rahul Gandhi saying that such tragic incidents happening one after another in Uttar Pradesh raise many serious questions about the negligence of the government and administration. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge demanded an investigation into the accident and strict legal action against whoever was found guilty of negligence.
-Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said Yogi Adityanath should leave the poll campaign and focus on improving the state's health and medical facilities. He also demanded that Rs 1 crore should be paid to all bereaved families, adding, "Gorakhpur should not be repeated".
-A statement from the Uttar Pradesh government said that on CM Adityanath’s directions to expedite the rescue work, senior officials took charge of the situation on Friday night itself. Most of the children were evacuated to safety within 15 to 20 minutes through the rescue operation, it said, adding that most of the infants were shifted to the PICU ward.
-Expressing his condolences to the families of the deceased children, CM Adityanath directed the officials to provide all possible help to the victims. “Ten newborns died in the accident, while 54 were rescued," he said. Another statement from the state government said, “On the CM’s instructions, an assistance of Rs 5 lakh each is being provided to the parents of the newborns who died in the incident and Rs 50,000 to the family of each of the injured from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund."
(With inputs from agencies)