Three Newborns Die After Fire Breaks Out in Amravati Hospital NICU

Three newborn babies died early Monday when a fire broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the District Women’s Hospital in Amravati, Maharashtra.

The blaze started around 3:15 a.m. after a ventilator in the unit on the third floor sparked, according to police and hospital officials. Smoke filled the ward that housed premature and critically ill infants.

Hospital staff, nurses and security personnel rushed to evacuate the remaining babies. Officials said 36 infants were moved to safety. Six of the rescued newborns were later shifted to a super-specialty hospital for further care; one was reported in critical condition with burns.

Parents waiting outside the hospital described scenes of panic. Some said fire alarms did not sound and sprinklers failed to activate. One father recounted seeing infants covered in black ash as he carried his own child to safety.

Maharashtra authorities have ordered a high-level inquiry into the cause of the fire and the hospital’s safety systems. The unit had a capacity for 39 newborns across three sections; nine babies were in the affected section at the time.

The incident has drawn attention to infrastructure and emergency preparedness in government neonatal facilities across the state.