islamabad, pakistan —
At least 14 newborns died on Wednesday morning in one of Pakistan’s deadliest hospital fires in decades.
The fire broke out at around 7 a.m. local time in the maternity ward of the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), the largest hospital in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.
Rescue officials told CNN that the fire appears to have been caused by an explosion in an air conditioner compressor inside the nursery where the newborns were being cared for.
Officials said hospital staff were able to rescue one child.
Outside the hospital, a grieving father told reporters that his three-day-old baby had died in the fire.
“No one can understand the pain I’m going through,” he said.
Muneebah, a woman who had come to visit her family in the hospital, said she and her nephew and sister-in-law narrowly escaped when the fire started spreading.
“Thank God, our baby was safe,” she told CNN.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was “deeply saddened by this tragic incident” and ordered an immediate investigation into the fire, according to a statement from his office.
“Strict action will be taken against those found responsible,” he promised.
Healthcare in Pakistan is provided through both private and public healthcare providers. Government-run facilities are chronically underfunded and understaffed and face criticism for aging infrastructure and lack of emergency preparedness.
Islamabad is home to Pakistan’s political and military elite, and its facilities are generally of a higher standard than other towns and cities in the country.
The PIMS facility is located on a large site in the capital.
According to the university’s website, its mission is “to be a premier research-intensive medical university educating medical students, paramedics, and postdoctoral fellows according to international professional standards.”
Pakistan has seen several large-scale fires in recent years, including in hospitals, which often operate on outdated electrical systems.
Earlier this year, a massive fire broke out at a shopping center in Karachi, killing at least 67 people.
In June 2022, a fire broke out at a children’s hospital in Lahore, destroying thousands of dollars worth of medical supplies, local media reported.
