Jhansi/Lucknow:

Tragedy struck Jhansi, a town about 100 km from Gwalior, hours before midnight on Friday when a massive fire engulfed a children’s ward at a government hospital. As the city now struggles to cope with its loss, images from the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College paint a painful picture of the grief-stricken parents.

A woman lay motionless on the ground, too shocked to express her pain, as her relatives tried to comfort her. Beside her, a man struggled to hold his grieving wife and shouted, “mera bachcha jal gaya (my child has been burnt)”.

Bhagwati, a mother of one, narrated how she performed a daring stunt to save her child from the burning war. “Everyone was screaming as the ward caught fire. They were picking up the babies and throwing them out the windows. I ran inside, got my baby and got out,” she said.

Footage from last night showed men handing the children over the window one by one as a crowd gathered outside.

“No one came to save us,” said another woman.

At least 54 children were in the ward when a short circuit possibly caused the fire. 44 of them could be rescued, officials confirmed this morning, adding that seven of the victims had been identified.

A senior official said early this morning that at least 16 children injured in the fire were still fighting for their lives.

Parents of some of the injured children claimed they were not allowed to meet their babies undergoing treatment, sparking a flash protest inside the hospital. Sources suggest that the parents were not allowed to meet their children to avoid any confusion over their identities.

The political blame game

A bitter blame game erupted following the fire incident, with the opposition alleging negligence on the part of the hospital administration. Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav has suggested that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should leave his election campaigns and focus on health facilities in the state.

The Congress also claimed the administration’s failure, with Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi demanding strict action against the culprits.

Yogi Adityanath, addressing a rally today, called it a tragic incident and expressed condolences to the families of the victims. The Center and the state have announced separate financial assistance to the families of the victims and the injured.