Pakistan Orders Probe After PIMS Fire Kills 14 Babies as Witnesses Cite Locked Ward Door
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Aug 26
Pakistan Orders Probe After PIMS Fire Kills 14 Babies as Witnesses Cite Locked Ward Door
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Aug 26
Summary
Only one of 15 babies in PIMS's maternity ward survived Wednesday's blaze, which witnesses said trapped newborns behind closed doors and left parents waiting hours for help.
An air-conditioning unit caught fire on the third floor of the mother-and-child unit, while survivors and relatives described missing staff, no fire security and rescue teams smashing windows to reach the ward.
Hospital director Rana Imran Sikander denied the ward door was locked, saying it was manned to prevent baby theft, but multiple witnesses said other exits were shut and people had to break a door down.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered an immediate investigation and suspended federal health secretary Aslam Ghauri as the disaster renewed scrutiny of Pakistan's weak fire-safety enforcement after other deadly blazes this year.