At least 15 newborn babies died this Wednesday after a fire broke out at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital in Islamabad, the capital of the country, according to local media. According to initial hypotheses, the fire was caused by the explosion of an air conditioning system compressor.
The incident occurred around seven in the morning (local time, 4:00 in mainland Spain) on the third floor of the public medical center, in the women’s and children’s health wing. There were 16 newborns in this wing of the clinic, according to GEO channel.
This is one of the most serious fires recorded in a hospital in recent years in a country where healthcare is state-funded, but which has facilities that are usually overcrowded and poorly equipped, as well as poorly maintained.
Investigation
The country’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has ordered the authorities to immediately start an investigation to determine the causes of the fire, according to his office. “Those responsible must be identified and the strictest measures will be taken,” the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement.
The PIMS hospital, located in the center of the Pakistani capital, is one of the largest public centers in the city and the former Prime Minister Imran Khan was briefly admitted there last week.
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