A fire broke at the maternity unit of the Cooch Behar Government Medical College and Hospital on Thursday, forcing patients and relatives to scurry with newborns for safety.

There were 111 newborns in the four-storied building when the fire broke out around 9.30am from the second floor. The maternity unit has 292 beds and sources said it had at least 260 patients then. No one was hurt and the blaze, suspected to have started from an electric panel room near the ward, was put out in two hours.

For Majuni Barman, 20, who was cradling her two-day-old daughter, “all hell broke loose”. Her mother-in-law helped Majuni escape.