Hospital fire tragedy: PM Modi announces Rs 2 lakh each for kin of deceased

This comes after seven newborns died in the fire tragedy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the fire tragedy at a hospital in east Delhi is "heart-rending" and announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased.
 

A massive fire broke out at a children's hospital in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar, leaving seven newborns dead, officials said.

"The fire tragedy at a hospital in Delhi is heart-rending. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this incredibly difficult time. I pray that those injured recover at the earliest," Modi said in a post on X.
 

The officials of the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said the blaze broke out at the children's hospital in Shahdara on Saturday night.

In the wake of the fire tragedy at a hospital in Delhi, Prime Minister Modi has announced that an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) would be given to the next of kin of each deceased, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a post on X.
 

The PMO further said Rs 50,000 would be given to each of those injured.

Meanwhile, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo said that the Commission has taken cognizance of the fire tragedy.

 

"The Commission has taken cognizance of the incident of fire in a hospital in Vivek Vihar area in Delhi and the death of newborn babies. A team of CrPC @NCPCR_ will visit the hospital today to investigate the incident. Official information will be shared after the team's visit," Kanoongo posted on X.

Atul Garg, Director of the Delhi Fire Department said that it is most likely that the baby care centre did not possess a No-Objection Certificate (NOC).

The owner of the care centre, identified as Naveen Kichi, is still absconding.

As per the Delhi police, an FIR under sections 336 and 304A is being registered against him.

Atul Gard told ANI, "I cannot explain this completely yet, most likely the authorities did not possess a No-Objection Certificate (NOC)."

"At 11:32 pm, we got a call that there was a fire in the baby care centre. We initially sent seven fire tenders and afterwards, sent five more. We tried very hard and rescued 12 children. Later we came to know that there were small children in which around six children died. It is a very sad incident," he added.

Further, the director of the Delhi Fire Department said that because there were some oxygen cylinders, the blast took place.

"When we got the call, the caller requested to send more vehicles as the fire spread to the nearby buildings also," Garg said.

According to Atul Garg, the fire broke out in the baby centre first, so people from nearby areas had already left and there was no need to rescue the adjacent buildings.

"It was a very tough operation. We made two teams. One team started firefighting because there was a blast of cylinders, we can say the chain of blast of cylinders. So we had to save ourselves also. We started rescue operations for babies as well. Unfortunately, we could not save all the children. We removed all the twelve babies to the hospital. But after arrival, they declared that 6 were dead. That is a regrettable incident," he added.

President Droupadi Murmu extended her condolences on the incident.

In a post on X, the President said, "The news of the death of many children due to a fire in a hospital in Vivek Vihar, Delhi is heart-rending. May God give strength to the bereaved parents and relatives to bear this shock. I pray for the speedy recovery of other children injured in this incident."

Meanwhile, Delhi CM Kejriwal assured strict action in the case.

"This incident of fire in a children's hospital is heartbreaking. We all stand with those who lost their innocent children in this accident. Government and administration officials are busy providing treatment to the injured on the spot. The causes of the incident are being investigated and whoever is responsible for this negligence will not be spared," Kejriwal said.

(With inputs from ANI)