A child who was among the 39 rescued from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) fire at Jhansi's Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College has succumbed, hospital officials said on Monday.
A senior officer of the medical college, however, said this death on Sunday night was due to illness and not related to the fire incident. Earlier on Sunday, another child who was among those rescued had died during treatment.
Dr. Narendra Singh Sengar, the Principal of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, "Of the 39 children rescued from the NICU fire on Friday night, one more has died. Vishal and Muskan's child was born in Jalaun. He was referred here from Jalaun due to absent-cry. He also had hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. The child died due to the illness and has nothing related to the fire incident."
Sengar recounted that the fire broke out unexpectedly in the NICU late Friday night, where 49 children were being treated. While 39 children were saved, 10 had tragically died due to suffocation or burns.
He added that 37 children are still under treatment.
Dr. Sengar also said that the Director-General of Health and Medical Services, along with his team, visited the medical college on Monday to investigate the incident. The inspection included a thorough review of the fire-affected NICU.
When asked about the extent of the damages, Dr. Sengar said, "It is currently very difficult to estimate the total losses caused by the fire." The fire, which broke out in the NICU of one of the major medical facilities in the Bundelkhand region of UP, has sparked concerns over safety protocols in healthcare institutions. The investigation into the cause of the fire and accountability for the tragedy is ongoing.
The Uttar Pradesh government had on Saturday formed a four-member committee to investigate the hospital fire. The panel has been tasked with identifying the cause of the fire and determining whether there was any negligence. The government has sought its report within seven days.
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