Jaweria (2nd R), who said she lost her child in the fire, reacts following the blaze at the Mother and Child Health ward of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital in Islamabad on August 26, 2026.
A fire erupted in a hospital maternity ward in Islamabad on Wednesday, killing 14 infants, Pakistan authorities said, blaming a faulty air conditioner for the blaze.
The dawn fire broke out on the third floor of the Mother and Child Health Ward at the capital’s premier public hospital, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, the Islamabad district office said in a statement.
The statement gave a death toll of 14, who, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, were all infants.
Witnesses described chaotic and harrowing scenes, including intense smoke and broken glass, a slow response from emergency services and guards reportedly preventing them from leaving the ward.
