At least 14 babies die in Pakistan hospital fire

At least 14 newborn babies died in a fire that broke out on the third‑floor maternity and child ward of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital in Islamabad on Wednesday morning, hospital officials said. An air‑conditioning unit ignited, a spokesperson for the hospital told the BBC. There were 15 babies in the ward when the fire started; one infant was rescued, the spokesperson added. The babies were either in incubators or connected to oxygen equipment, Health Minister Mustafa Kamal told Geo News. He noted that oxygen is not flammable on its own but can accelerate a fire, causing materials to burn hotter and faster. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has suspended Federal Secretary of Health Aslam Ghauri, a senior official in the health ministry, removing him from his post. The prime minister is chairing a high‑level meeting on the hospital fire and has expressed “deep anger” at certain officials, the accusation ministry said. Eyewitnesses described chaotic and harrowing scenes at the hospital, including thick smoke and shattered glass, with some complaining that rescuers were slow to arrive. Khurram Mehmood told AFP that his three‑day‑old daughter died in the blaze and that rescuers took hours to reach the scene: “We were sitting on the road waiting for help.” Abdul Ghafoor also spoke to AFP, saying the fire spread “very quickly.” He said he entered the hospital to try to help patients but could not reach the maternity ward: “There was heavy black smoke inside and patients were trapped… rescue teams arrived after about 2 hours.”