Jhansi Medical College Fire Tragedy: At least 10 children died in a fire that engulfed the children’s ward of a medical college in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi district, officials said, while 16 others were injured fighting for their lives on Saturday. The babies on the outside of the NICU were saved, along with some of those on the inside. Footage purported to be from the medical school showed panicked patients and their carers being evacuated, even as several police officers assisted with rescue and relief efforts.

District Magistrate (DM) Avinash Kumar said the fire broke out around 10.45 pm on Friday in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, possibly due to an electrical short circuit. The less critical are admitted to the outer section of the NICU, while the more critical patients are kept in the inner section, Kumar said.

chief minister Yogi Adityanath took cognizance of the incident and directed district administration officials to ensure proper treatment to the injured, according to a statement issued in Lucknow. “The death of children in an accident that took place in the NICU of the medical college located in Jhansi district is extremely sad and heartbreaking. The district administration and officials concerned have been instructed to carry out rescue and rescue operations on war footing,” he posted. in hindi on X. Adityanath directed Divisional Commissioner Bimal Kumar Dubey and Deputy Inspector General (Jhansi Police) Kalanidhi Naithani to submit a report on the matter within 12 hours, the statement added.

UP Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak said the incident was extremely heartbreaking, “In February, the fire safety audit was done. A mock exercise was also held in June. How this incident happened and why it happened, we can say something about it only once. the probe report is coming…7 bodies of the newborns have been identified, 3 bodies have not been identified yet…financial support will be given to the families of the newborns…”

In the early hours of Saturday, SSP Sudha Singh told reporters that the 16 injured children are being treated and efforts are on to save their lives. All doctors are available to them along with adequate medical facilities, she said. On the cause of the incident, the SSP reiterated the DM’s observations, saying prima facie that the fire appears to have been triggered by a short circuit.

The state run medical college started services in 1968 and is one of the largest government hospitals in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh.