At least 14 newborn babies killed as fire engulfs hospital’s maternity ward after ‘air conditioning unit explosion’

AT LEAST 14 newborn babies have been killed after a horror fire tore through a hospital’s maternity ward. An air conditioning unit reportedly exploded sparking the deadly blaze and trapping several people inside with just one baby being rescued alive. Police and ambulance services outside the front of the hospital after the fire Credit: Reuters Members of Anti-Terrorist Squad move past a fire engine following a deadly fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital Credit: Reuters Nineteen people were saved in total from inside the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital after the fire broke out. These included the newborn tot, six other children, 10 women and two men. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! All survivors were reportedly rushed to intensive care units for further treatment. Pakistani officials believe the fire broke out on the hospital’s third floor at around 6.45am this morning. Glass windows close to where the first broke out were shattered Credit: Reuters Security personnel stand next to an ambulance following a fire incident outside the maternity ward Credit: AFP Six fire trucks, four ambulances and dozens of emergency responders rushed to the scene to carry out rescue operation around PIMS. The compressor of an air-conditioning unit exploded inside the nursery, according to local reports. Pictures from the scene show glass windows close to where the first broke out shattered under the intense heat. Health Minister Mustafa Kamal told Geo News: “The fire spread very quickly, and the hospital’s electricity also went out immediately with the explosion.” Most read in The Sun Rescuers said no doctors, ward boys or other staff were in the incubation centre when the fire broke out. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an “immediate investigation” into the cause of the fire. He said in a statement that he has “deep sorrow and heartfelt regret” over the hospital tragedy. Sharif added: “Such a situation with children is irreparable.” An eight-member inquiry committee has been set up to investigate the fire. Comment now