Three Newborns Die in Fire at Amravati District Women's Hospital NICU

Three newborns died after a fire broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the District Women's Hospital in Amravati, Maharashtra, early on Monday morning.

A ventilator in the Special Newborn Care Unit on the third floor sparked at approximately 3.15 a.m., igniting the blaze. Hospital staff, nurses and security guards evacuated the remaining infants as smoke filled the ward.

The unit forms part of three SNCUs at the hospital with a combined capacity of 39 newborns. One unit was affected. Six infants were shifted to a super-speciality hospital for further care. Four are under treatment and one is reported critical with burns to the hands and legs. Three others sustained minor burns.

Parents waiting outside the hospital described seeing infants covered in black ash. One parent, Yogesh Savarkar, whose eight-day-old child was on another floor, said he brought his own child down and observed the condition of others.

Relatives claimed the ward's water spray system did not activate. Police and hospital officials have begun an inquiry into the cause and the response.

The fire was brought under control relatively quickly, but the loss of three premature or critically ill newborns has prompted questions about equipment maintenance and emergency systems in the government facility.

District Surgeon Dr Vinod Pawar confirmed the transfer of the surviving infants. Senior police officers are investigating the incident.

The tragedy highlights ongoing concerns about fire safety and critical-care infrastructure in public hospitals across the state.