Fire at Adilabad RIMS newborn unit kills three infants; 24 rescued
Three newborns died after a midnight fire, reportedly caused by an air-conditioner, swept the Special Neonatal Care Unit at RIMS Adilabad; 24 infants were rescued and shifted to hospitals.
A midnight fire at the Special Neonatal Care Unit (SNCU) of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Adilabad has claimed the lives of three infants, officials said. The blaze broke out on Monday (September 21, 2026) and reportedly began after an air-conditioner caught fire.
Among the dead was five-day-old Sabha Khanum, a preterm baby who was on ventilator support in the unit. Her father, Salim Khan of Ichoda, had admitted her hoping she would recover and return home while his wife recuperated in the maternity ward after a Caesarean section.
"Smoke had clouded my daughter's face when she was brought out of the SNCU amid suffocating conditions," Salim Khan said. "We admitted her hoping she would recover soon and return home. But those hopes were shattered by the fire."
Two other infants died in the early hours of Tuesday (September 22, 2026) while undergoing treatment at hospitals in Adilabad and Nizamabad.
Around 27 infants were in the SNCU when the fire broke out. Staff and attendants of other patients evacuated the babies as thick smoke rapidly filled the ward, an effort eyewitnesses credited with preventing a higher toll.
A patient's attendant who was in the hospital corridor said he rushed towards the unit after noticing smoke. "I, along with others, broke open the glass windows to allow the smoke to escape and then entered the SNCU, covering my face with a T-shirt," he said. "Despite the thick smoke, I saw the hospital staff and family members carrying the infants out in their arms. They were later shifted to nearby children's hospitals in ambulances."
Another woman at the hospital said she heard a loud noise before hurrying to the ward, which she found filled with dark smoke. She brought her preterm granddaughter out before the smoke thickened, and expressed anguish that the incident occurred in a unit meant to provide critical care to premature and vulnerable newborns.
The remaining 24 infants were shifted to various children's hospitals for continued treatment and were reported to be in stable condition.