At least 10 newborns have died in a fire at a hospital in northern India after a fire broke out in the neonatal ward.

Chaos and panic ensued as the fire spread, relatives of the children told local media, with parents breaking windows to enter the ward, trying to reach their children.

“The nurses were pushing people out, but those who managed to get in grabbed every child they could,” a grieving grandmother told the ANI news agency.

Hospital staff in the Jhansi district of Uttar Pradesh state managed to save 44 infants, but at least 16 are in critical condition, authorities said.

Three of the ten babies who died have yet to be identified, leaving some parents unsure of what happened to their children.

Santoshi, a new mother, is still searching for her 10-day-old baby.

“When the fire broke out, I couldn’t go in to save my child. How could I? When no one could get in, how could anyone give me the baby?” she told the ANI news agency.

The Friday night fire at the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College Hospital is being blamed on an electrical fault.

Footage from the scene showed distraught parents outside the hospital.

Indian media reported that the fire first broke out in the intensive care unit of the children’s ward around 10:30 p.m. local time (17:00 GMT).

Local officials believe an electrical short or other malfunction in a machine used to increase oxygen levels in the ward caused the fire.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a message online calling the deaths “heartbreaking”.

“My deepest condolences to those who lost their innocent children in this. I pray to God to give them the strength to bear this immense loss,” he wrote.

Uttar Pradesh state government officials announced 500,000 rupees (£4,600; $5,900) in compensation for bereaved families.

Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said a safety assessment of the public hospital was conducted in February and a recent fire drill in June.

This is the second high-profile hospital fire in India in six months in which newborns have been killed. In May, six babies were killed in a fire at a private neonatal unit in Delhi.