Maharashtra Hospital Fire: Parents Accuse Hospital Staff Of Neglecting Duty

Many parents who lost their newborn babies in the disastrous fire that erupted in Maharashtra's Bhandara civil hospital in the early hours on Saturday have blamed the hospital staff for neglecting their duties.

In a heart-wrenching incident, ten infants who were between the age of a month to three months died at the Special Newborn Care Unit of the four-storeyed district hospital in Maharashtra's Bhandara district town, located at a distance of about 900 km from the state capital Mumbai.

The relatives of victims, whose newborn babies perished in the blaze have blamed hospital administration for dereliction of duty and are seeking action against those responsible in the fire.

Kin of Geeta and Vishwanath Behere, whose two month-old daughter was among the 10 newborn babies, dying in the unfortunate incident have claimed that no doctor or nurse was present in the unit when fire broke out. They also blamed the staff for the negligence and demands strict action against those who held responsible for the incident.

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Vandana Sidam from Ravanwadi in Bhandara district gave birth to a girl at Pahela primary health centre on January 3. The baby was shifted to the district hospital unit as its weight was below normal.

Family members of Vandana, whose husband was working in Pune when the tragedy happened, have blamed the hospital authorities for the fire and sought action against officials who they claim ignored safety norms.

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Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who has ordered a probe into the incident, is scheduled to visit Bhandara on Sunday and meet hospital officials and parents of the victims.

A district official said the fire broke out around 1.30 am. At the time, there were two nurses and a helper in the childrens ward and they immediately raised an alarm.

The fire brigade was called out and before it arrived, staffers tried to rescue the children and managed to save seven infants.

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Bhandara District Health Officer Prashant Uike said the SNCU is a 36-bed ward. The ages of the deceased children ranged between a few days to a few months.

Civil Surgeon Pramod Khandate said most newborns died due to suffocation. "One baby had fatal burn injuries, and two others had minor burns injuries. The rest inhaled a lot of smoke," he said.

(With PTI Inputs)