Pakistan Hospital Fire Kills 14 Babies Amid Locked Doors

A devastating fire broke out just after dawn on Wednesday at a maternity ward in Pakistan's capital, claiming the lives of 14 newborn babies. The blaze originated in an air-conditioning unit located on the third floor of the mother and child unit at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital in Islamabad, leaving only a single infant survivor out of the 15 babies present in the room.

Hivsa Walid, who was near the room with her sister-in-law, recalled hearing an initial shout that she mistook for a patient's death before noticing smoke filling the area. The two women immediately grabbed the newborn baby girl, who is still unnamed, and fled downstairs without gathering any personal belongings.

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

The tragedy triggered immense grief and anger among parents and relatives. Khurram Mehmood, a 40-year-old father, stated he lost his three-day-old daughter after waiting for hours for rescue workers to arrive. Another grieving mother, Jaweria, bitterly questioned why doctors left the children behind and criticized the emergency response teams for failing to save the infants from perishing in the flames.

"To hell with you, rescue team and police. Babies burnt to death there, but nobody could save them."

Jaweria

A critical issue raised by survivors and witnesses is the accessibility of the building during the emergency. The father of another deceased baby claimed that the facility lacked proper fire safety measures and emergency exits, noting that multiple doors were kept locked to restrict frequent family visits. Other eyewitnesses reported that duty staff were absent, forcing people to break doors down and rescue teams to smash windows to tackle the fire.