Baby Care Hospital Fire: Following a big fire at a children’s hospital in Delhi‘s Vivek Vihar district on Saturday night, authorities reported that at least six babies had perished. Twelve infants were admitted to the hospital; five of them were sent to another hospital for treatment, while the other six died as a result of the fire event, according to the police. One newborn was already deceased.
Police File FIR Against Hospital Owner
Delhi Police has filed a formal complaint (FIR) against Naveen Kichi, the proprietor of the New Born Baby Care Hospital, alleging violations of sections 34 (criminal activity), 304A (death by carelessness), and 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others). He’s running away right now.
In a brief statement, DCP Shahdara said, “In the hospital there were 12 newborns admitted. They were all rescued and shifted to the East Delhi Advance NICU Hospital, Vivek Vihar for treatment. Out of these babies, six were declared brought dead and one died earlier. The seven bodies have been further shifted to GTB Hospital for postmortem.”
Initial Report and Emergency Response
The Vivek Vihar police station received a PCR report about the fire at the New Born Baby Care Hospital and an adjacent building at approximately 11:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Leading law enforcement officers hastened to the location to inquire about the occurrence, while the Delhi Fire Services sent out sixteen fire engines. Early on Sunday morning, the fire was put out.
Cause of Fire and Initial Impact
The hospital was also enveloped in flames, however no casualties or injuries were reported from that facility. According to Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg, the fire was most likely started by an oxygen cylinder explosion. Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj says, “…12 of the newborn babies were rescued but, unfortunately, 6 of them died due to suffocation, one more child is in critical condition. I tried calling the health secretary but he is not picking up the call… We will take such strict action that none of the officials commit such negligence in future. We are with the families who have lost their babies. I’ll talk to the DCP regarding this that the prosecution to be launched on the owners as soon as possible.”