At least 14 babies killed in Pakistan hospital nursery fire

Only one infant rescued from the neonatal facility where the fire broke out, in Pakistan’s capital.

At least 14 newborn children have been killed in a fire that broke out in the nursery of a government-run hospital in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, as he ordered an investigation.

The fire broke out on Wednesday on the third floor of the Mother and Child Centre at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital, according to media reports.

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Local broadcaster Geo TV, quoting hospital sources, put the death toll at 15.

It said the blaze, which began shortly before 7am local time (02:00 GMT), has now been extinguished. Only one infant was rescued, it added.

In a statement on X, Sharif offered his “deepest condolences to the bereaved families” and directed authorities to conduct “an immediate investigation”.

He promised that those responsible would face the “strictest action”.

Geo TV cited rescue sources as saying that the fire was likely caused by a short circuit in a malfunctioning air conditioning unit.

Building fires are common in Pakistan, where safety regulations and building codes are routinely ignored or poorly enforced. In January, at least 65 people died when a massive fire swept through a crowded shopping complex in the southern port city of Karachi.

Wednesday’s blaze is one of the deadliest hospital fires in Pakistan’s history. While the government provides subsidised medical treatment through public hospitals, the state sector remains severely underfunded, mismanaged and overcrowded.