Blaze in Islamabad Hospital Nursery Kills 14 Newborns
A fire in an Islamabad hospital nursery killed 14 newborns. Officials say oxygen cylinders fueled the rapid blaze.
A devastating fire swept through the nursery of a major government hospital in Pakistan's capital early Wednesday, killing 14 newborns, according to hospital officials and the government.
Pakistan's Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Tariq Fazal Chaudhary, described the incident as a tragic loss. He stated that the fire spread with alarming speed, fueled by oxygen cylinders and pipelines within the ward.
"It was a fire which spread suddenly, in a very speed because there were oxygen cylinders, oxygen pipelines in that ward, so that caused that fire to spread," Chaudhary said.
The minister explained that the explosion of oxygen cylinders caused the fire to race along the oxygen lines, engulfing the ward in a matter of seconds. He noted that the fire brigade arrived at the scene within five to ten minutes, but the blaze had already taken its toll.
Video footage from the scene showed ambulances at the hospital mortuary, with parents seen sitting inside one vehicle alongside a coffin. The exterior of the hospital showed broken windows, evidence of the force of the blast.
The incident has cast a pall over the capital, as authorities begin to investigate the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.