New Delhi. A massive fire broke out at a children’s hospital in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar area on Saturday night, leading to the tragic death of seven newborn babies. According to the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), they received an emergency call at 11:32 pm and immediately rushed nine fire tenders to the spot. DFS chief Atul Garg confirmed that the rescue operation was completed, but the cause of the fire remains unknown. Twelve newborn babies were rescued and immediately admitted to a nearby hospital, a DFS official said. Of them, seven infants died, one is on ventilator, and five others are undergoing medical treatment.
Atul Garg said that the fire broke out in a baby care centre located in Block B of Vivek Vihar. The rescued newborns were taken to East Delhi Advanced NICU Hospital by ambulance for treatment. The incident has put the families of the affected babies in deep distress, many were seen mourning outside the hospital. The hospital management has not yet issued any statement regarding the incident.
According to an official, the fire broke out at 11:32 pm. Firefighters noticed that the hospital building and the adjacent residential building were engulfed in flames. The fire brigade successfully doused the fire. Police officials are currently collecting information from the hospital staff to determine if the facility was equipped with adequate fire fighting systems.
The incident happened on the same day as another tragic incident in Rajkot, Gujarat, where at least 28 people died in a massive fire at a crowded sports venue and subsequent collapse of the building. Reacting to the Delhi incident, former BJP councillor and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Seva Dal president Jitendra Singh reached the spot with volunteers. He called the incident tragic and kept inspecting the rescue efforts throughout the night.