Toll in Telangana newborns unit fire climbs to 5 as 2 infants die

The toll in Monday night's fire accident at a Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) in Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Telangana’s Adilabad district rose to five after two more infants succumbed to injuries on Wednesday, officials said.

According to an official from the district medical and health department, a five-day old female infant died when she was being shifted to a hospital in Nirmal, while another two-weeks-old baby breathed her last during treatment at RIMS in the early hours of Wednesday.

Earlier, three prematurely born babies aged below a month from different parts of the district died of asphyxiation after inhaling toxic gases and smoke emanated following an AC explosion in the SNCU.

Twenty newborns were rescued by security guards, ambulance drivers and staffers of the institute. Around 27 infants were being treated in incubators at SNCU when the incident took place. While five of them died, the medical condition of two newborns is said to be critical.

State health minister Damodar Rajanarasimha, who visited RIMS on Tuesday night, said an expert committee would examine the cause of the fire, any safety lapses, missed maintenance processes, and what the hospital needs to change.

Rajanarasimha inspected the SNCU ward and obtained details from officials about the relief measures taken after the fire, the health condition of the babies and the treatment provided to them.

He said RIMS would be strengthened by introducing new departments and setting up an emergency wing to treat victims of road accidents and others.

The government also ordered three audits at RIMS: one for electrical safety, one for fire safety and one for the building’s structure.

Officials will use the findings to plan repairs, new infrastructure, restoration work, construction and staffing, the minister said, adding that stringent action would be taken against anyone who was found to be negligent.

The health minister also announced a 150-bed Mother and Child Health building at RIMS, as part of a wider plan to develop the hospital from around 800 beds to nearly 950 and expand several departments.