A fire broke out on Friday in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Asian Hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra. Nine newborns were admitted to the ward at the time of the incident. Hospital staff evacuated all the babies after smoke was seen coming from an air conditioner (AC) and shifted them safely to other hospitals.
The incident took place at Asian Hospital in the Jalna Road area of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. According to the hospital administration, staff noticed smoke coming from an AC unit installed in the ward and immediately began evacuating the nine newborns admitted to the NICU.
The hospital administration said all the newborns are safe and were shifted to other hospitals with the consent of their families.
Dr. Shoaib Hashmi, who runs the hospital, said hospital staff first noticed smoke coming from the AC unit. Doctors and other employees were carrying out their regular duties in the NICU at the time.
After the smoke was detected, staff immediately began removing the newborns from the ward. The babies were taken to a safe location and arrangements were subsequently made to transfer them to other hospitals.
Available video footage also shows smoke spreading inside the ward, followed by flames. The fire and smoke temporarily affected the visibility of cameras installed in the ward.
During the incident, smoke and sparks were seen around the trolley where the newborns were kept. Staff began evacuating the babies before the situation worsened.
The smoke from the AC unit gradually increased, followed by visible flames. People present in the ward prioritised moving the newborns to safety.
As the fire intensified, there was a brief commotion inside the hospital premises. However, staff evacuated all nine babies from the NICU.
According to the hospital administration, all nine newborns admitted to the NICU were shifted to other hospitals after the fire. The transfers were carried out with the consent of their families.
The hospital team brought the fire under control quickly. There is no information about any patient, newborn or hospital employee being injured in the incident.
The hospital administration said the affected area was cleaned after the incident and normal operations have resumed.
The fire and smoke became extensive enough to affect the visibility of cameras installed in the ward for some time. Available footage initially shows doctors and hospital staff engaged in their regular work.
The footage then shows smoke emerging from the AC unit. As the smoke increased, staff began evacuating the newborns. Flames from the AC unit became visible shortly afterwards.
The footage shows the amount of smoke increasing as the fire spread, followed by people and hospital employees taking the newborns out of the ward.
The incident occurred around 10 days after a fire at the NICU of the District Women's Hospital in Amravati, Maharashtra.
Three newborns died in that incident, while 36 children were safely evacuated. Following the Amravati incident, the Maharashtra government ordered a high-level investigation into the case.
The Asian Hospital administration said there is currently no information about anyone being injured in the incident. All nine newborns admitted to the NICU were evacuated in time and shifted to other hospitals.
According to Dr. Shoaib Hashmi, staff identified the situation as soon as smoke emerged from the AC unit and began evacuating the babies.
The hospital said cleaning of the affected area has been completed and normal activities have resumed.
According to the information available, the fire came to light after smoke was seen coming from the AC unit. No further official technical conclusion about the exact cause of the fire is available.
The incident at Asian Hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar resulted in all nine newborns being safely evacuated and shifted to other hospitals with their families' consent. No injuries have been reported, and the hospital has said that normal operations resumed after cleaning the affected area.
