According to AFP, the Islamabad District Office said that the fire broke out on the morning of August 26 (local time) at the Maternal and Child Health Care Area on the 3rd floor of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital (PIMS) - a major public hospital in the capital Islamabad, Pakistan.
Local authorities confirmed that at least 14 infants died in the fire. Firefighters, police and ambulances were quickly dispatched to the scene to control the fire. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi both expressed deep sorrow at the passing of 14 newborns.
Mr. Sharif said that the incident caused irreparable losses, and requested clarification of the causes, identification of responsibilities of relevant parties and strict handling of individuals and organizations with violations.
According to AFP reporters present outside the hospital, a woman burst into tears while a man collected broken glass from 2 windows. Security forces were deployed at the entrance to the capital's major medical facility.
Fires at large buildings occur quite frequently in Pakistan, in the context that regulations on fire safety, construction standards and implementation are still limited.
In January, more than 65 people died in a fire at a shopping center in the port city of Karachi. In 2023, at least 11 people died in another fire at a shopping center in this city.
In 2021, at least 16 workers were killed in a factory fire in Karachi. Previously, in 2012, at least 250 workers died when a garment factory in Baldia Town, west of Karachi, was engulfed in flames. The building was then said to have no escape route.
