'They were not letting them out': Parents demand justice after infants die in Pakistan hospital fire

Islamabad: Grieving parents have expressed anger and demanded accountability after a fire at a maternity ward in Islamabad killed 14 newborns, with several witnesses alleging that emergency responders took hours to reach the hospital.

The fire broke out around dawn on the third floor of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), where the infants were being treated.

Jaweria, whose days-old baby died in the blaze, said she desperately called for help as smoke filled the ward.

"For two hours I kept crying and wailing," she said.

"Rescue teams arrived too late. Police arrived after four hours and said they are here to investigate.

"To hell with you, rescue team and police. Babies burnt to death there, but nobody could save them."

Khurram Mehmood, a 40-year-old father who lost his three-day-old daughter, said families were left waiting outside while attempts were made to deal with the blaze.

"The fire erupted at 6:00 am, rescue and authorities reached at 9:00 am, people were helping themselves," he told AFP.

"I lost my daughter. She was only three days old. My wife was in the ward. They took everyone out. We were sitting on the road waiting for help."

Authorities attributed the fire to an electrical fault, with a PIMS spokeswoman saying an air conditioner was the source of the blaze. Officials also rejected allegations that emergency assistance was delayed.

However, witnesses at the scene described chaotic rescue efforts. Some said they were forced to smash windows to reach people trapped inside the building.

"There was thick black smoke inside and patients were trapped," eyewitness Abdul Ghafoor told AFP.

"I barged in to try to save as many people as I could, but we could not reach the ward where the patients were.

"The fire was in the nursing room, and we could not see anything. Some of us broke the windows to help people get out."

Another witness said her sister-in-law and baby were inside the ward when the fire broke out.

"I was with her," she said. "They were not letting them out and the guards were stopping them.

"People had to break the door down and rescue teams had to break the windows to control the fire."

Parents question hospital response

The deaths have prompted questions about the presence of medical staff and the hospital's emergency preparedness.

Jaweria, who lost her baby, said she wanted authorities to establish why the newborns were not evacuated sooner.

"My demand is, I want justice," she told AFP.

"Why did the doctors leave the children?

"One nurse, one doctor, one gynaecologist, one paediatrician -- there was nobody in the entire ward. Why were they not there?

"Give me my child back."

Aneeza Jalil, a spokeswoman for PIMS, told AFP that the fire was caused by an electrical fault and that a "fire sparked" from an air conditioner.

Ali Abbas, 20, who was at the hospital with his sister, also described the initial moments of the blaze.

"There was a short circuit in the nursery, in the children's ward," he said. "It was full of smoke."

Probe ordered into deaths

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered an investigation into the incident and called for those responsible to face strict action.

"Those responsible should be identified and the strictest possible action should be taken", he said in a statement.

The investigation is expected to examine the cause of the fire, the hospital's evacuation procedures and the response of emergency personnel.