At least 15 infants were killed when a fire broke out at a state-run hospital in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, triggered by a fault in air conditioning systems, local broadcaster Geo TV reported on Wednesday.The blaze started at around 7am at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, on the third floor of the hospital’s mother and child health ward, the broadcaster said.Islamabad chief commissioner Sohail Ashraf said on social media that rescue teams, specialists, police and himself “immediately reached the site and controlled the fire”.The incident is among the deadliest hospital fires in recent years in the country, where government healthcare is subsidised but facilities are under-resourced and overburdened while watchdogs have frequently criticised state-run facilities as mismanaged.A worker removes pieces of broken glass from a window after a fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad on Wednesday. Photo: ReutersThere were 16 newborns in the ward when the fire broke out, one of whom was rescued, Geo reported.
15 newborns die in Pakistan hospital fire triggered by air-con fault
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities to conduct an immediate investigation into the fire at the state-run hospital.
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