At least 15 infants were killed when a fire broke out at a state-run hospital in Pakistan's capital city Islamabad, triggered by a fault in air-conditioning systems, local broadcaster Geo TV reported on Wednesday.
The fire, which broke out at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital, started around 7am (0200 GMT), the broadcaster said, adding that "cooling operations" were ongoing.
There were 16 newborns at the hospital's gynaecology ward when the fire broke out, one of whom was rescued, according to Geo.
Rescue officials said the fire apparently began after the compressor of an air-conditioning unit exploded inside the nursery, which is part of the hospital’s gynecology ward. Firefighters quickly responded and extinguished the blaze, and rescue teams were carrying out cooling operations at the site, local media reported.
A hospital spokesperson did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow over the deaths and ordered an immediate investigation. A statement from his office confirmed that 14 newborns had died. “A tragedy involving children is an irreparable loss,” Sharif said.
Sohail Ashraf, the Islamabad chief commissioner, said on X that he himself along with rescue teams, specialists, police "immediately reached at site and controlled the fire".
PIMS, established in 1985, is Islamabad’s largest public-sector hospital. It is one of the two oldest health facilities in the federal capital and comprises several hospitals and teaching institutes.
Fires in large buildings are frequent in Pakistan, often due to poor safety laws and building codes as well as lax enforcement.
In January, more than 65 people were killed in a shopping centre fire in the port city of Karachi.
At least 11 people were killed in another shopping mall fire in Karachi in 2023.
In 2021, at least 16 workers died after a factory fire in the same city.
In 2012, at least 250 labourers died at a garment factory in Baldia Town, in western Karachi, when a fire engulfed the facility. The building had no fire escape.
