Ten infants burnt in a fire at Indian hospital

Ten infants died in a maternity unit in the Indian state of Maharashtra early Saturday after a fire broke out in an extensive hospital.

According to news agency AFP, staff rescued seven of the newborns at Bhandara District Hospital but were forced back before taking ten others.

According to reports, some of those who died were between a few days and three months old.

"The cause of the fire is not yet known, but our employees extinguished the fire as soon as it happened. Children are choking with smoke." stated hospital authorities.

The fire brigade prevented the explosion from spreading to other parts of the hospital, and all other patients were shifted to safety.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray immediately ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter, "The heartbreaking tragedy in Bhandara, Maharashtra, in which we have lost precious young lives." "My thoughts are with all bereaved families. I hope the injured recover soon. "

Several other politicians, including opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, also expressed grief.

Authorities ordered an immediate investigation into the latest disaster to raise doubts about security in Indian hospitals. In 2011, more than 90 people died in a hospital in Kolkata.

In August, eight coronavirus patients were killed in a fire at a hospital in Ahmedabad. In November, five other COVID-19 patients died in an explosion at a clinic in Rajkot.

The Supreme Court called for a report on safety in coronavirus hospitals due to the incidents.

Indian hospitals are not new to such tragedies where infants were killed because of hospitals' negligence.

Many child deaths happened at the state-run BRD Medical College hospital in Gorakhpur city of Uttar Pradesh, India, in 2017 alone.

As of 2 September 2017, 1,317 children were killed at the hospital 2017. The 2017 deaths brought national attention in August when 63 babies died at the hospital after the hospital's piped oxygen supply ran out.