The Nov. 15 fire at Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in India killed 10 newborns
AP Photo
Firefighters at Jhansi Medical College hospital, in Jhansi, India, Nov. 15, 2024
Yakoob Mansuri and his wife brought their twin daughters to Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College for treatment for breathing issues
Upon news of the fire, Mansuri went to the NICU, smashed a window and rescued seven babies, but he wasn’t able to save his twins
“We never imagined, not even in our worst dreams, that we would see our babies in the condition they were in at the post-mortem house,” Mansuri told the media
A father managed to rescue seven infants, but he wasn’t able to save his twin daughters during last weekend’s deadly hospital fire in India that killed 10 newborns.
Indian news outlets, including India Today, National Herald and The Economic Times, reported that Yakoob Mansuri, 27, was outside the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, where his newborn twin daughters were receiving treatment, in Jhansi, in Uttar Pradesh state, on Friday, Nov. 15.
According to the National Herald, a woman who was feeding her child at the sick newborn care unit (SNCU), came out screaming about a fire at the hospital.
That was when Mansuri rushed to the NICU ward and smashed a window to enter, India Today reported. “It was a massive fire that no one could brave,” he recalled, according to the outlet.
“I could not enter the ward where my daughters were admitted because the fire was so intense,” Mansuri added. “Other parents also tried, but they too failed. Then we started rescuing infants from other wards. I took out seven children.”
Mansuri further recalled the harrowing experience to National Herald: “There was only a small opening to the inner unit of the SNCU. The entrance is barely large enough for one person to go through. We started feeling nauseous within minutes. How could the babies have endured it?”
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The bodies of Mansuri’s twin daughters were later identified on Saturday, Nov. 16, The Economic Times reported.
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Mansuri and his wife had originally brought their twins to the hospital for specialized care concerning their breathing issues.
“We never imagined, not even in our worst dreams, that we would see our babies in the condition they were in at the post-mortem house,” he told the National Herald.
According to the Associated Press, citing officials, there were 55 babies who were being treated at the NICU at the time of the fire; 45 of them were rescued. In addition to the 10 who died, 16 were injured.
An electrical short circuit or a defect in a machine used to raise oxygen levels in the NICU may be potential causes for the fire, according to officials, BBC News reported.
AP Photo
Equipment damaged by fire inside the neonatal intensive care unit at Jhansi Medical College hospital in Jhansi, India, Nov. 15, 2024
The AP reported that according to officials, based on an initial investigation, such safety deficiencies, including expired fire extinguishers and non-working fire alarms, hampered authorities’ rescue efforts.
In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Brajesh Pathak, deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, commented on the tragedy, saying on Nov. 15: “The death of many newborn babies in the unfortunate accident of fire in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (SNCU Ward) of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, Jhansi today is extremely sad and heartbreaking.”
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Pathak also spoke with the bereaved families of the children injured in the fire and visited the accident site. Additionally, he shared on X that there will be a three-tier investigation into the fire, adding: “The fire department will also investigate. Along with this, instructions have also been given for a magisterial inquiry into the incident.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also posted a message on X and described the deaths of the children as “heartbreaking.”
“My deepest condolences to those who have lost their innocent children in this. I pray to God to give them the strength to bear this immense loss,” Modi wrote, adding: “The local administration, under the supervision of the state government, is making every possible effort for relief and rescue.”
PEOPLE contacted Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College for comment on Monday, Nov. 18.