Uttar Pradesh: Expired fire extinguishers were found in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi Medical College, where a devastating fire claimed the lives of 10 newborns. Safety alarms failed to go off as well, causing delays in evacuating patients from the building during the blaze on Friday.

Compensation announced

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered an immediate high-level investigation into the incident and has requested a detailed report by Saturday evening. To support the grieving families, the Chief Minister announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for each of the deceased children’s families and Rs 50,000 for those who were injured in the fire.

"The district administration and concerned officials have been instructed to carry out relief and rescue operations on a war footing," Adityanath wrote on X. "I pray to Lord Shri Ram to provide salvation to the departed souls and speedy recovery to the injured."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the deaths "heart-wrenching" in a post on social media platform X. "My deepest condolences to those who have lost their innocent children in this. I pray to God to give them the strength to bear this immense loss," he wrote.

Fire in NICU

At least 10 babies tragically lost their lives in a devastating fire at a Jhansi hospital, with several others sustaining injuries. Hospital sources confirmed that around 54 infants were being treated in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) when the fire broke out. BJP MLA Rajeev Singh Parichha described the incident as "tragic" and stated that 35 infants were successfully rescued.

The blaze is believed to have originated from machinery used to enrich the oxygen levels in the NICU. Officials explained that the high concentration of oxygen, a highly flammable gas, caused the fire to spread rapidly and uncontrollably.