14 infants killed in Pakistan maternity ward fire

A devastating fire ripped through a maternity ward at a hospital in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, killing at least 14 infants. The blaze erupted early Wednesday on the third floor of the Mother and Child Health ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described the situation as irreparable and called for a thorough investigation to identify those responsible and take strict action. He stated that all victims were infants.

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I lost my daughter. She was only three days old. My wife was in the ward. They brought everyone out. We sat on the roadside waiting for help.

Witnesses described a scene of chaos and panic as smoke filled the ward. "People were screaming. Black smoke filled the area. We ran for our lives. Thank God my baby is safe," said Shagufta Parveen, a mother who escaped with her 10-day-old infant, her hands still smudged with soot.

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People were screaming. Black smoke filled the area. We ran for our lives. Thank God my baby is safe.

Another grieving father, Khurram Mehmood, 40, whose three-day-old daughter perished in the fire, claimed rescue teams took hours to arrive. "I lost my daughter. She was only three days old. My wife was in the ward. They brought everyone out. We sat on the roadside waiting for help," he told AFP.

Hospital spokesperson Aneeza Jalil attributed the fire to an electrical fault originating from an air conditioner. Emergency services received the call before 7 a.m. local time and quickly brought the fire under control. Fires in large buildings are a recurring problem in Pakistan, often attributed to weak safety regulations and poor enforcement.

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Situations like this involving children cannot be rectified. The circumstances that led to this incident must be thoroughly examined, those responsible must be identified, and the strictest action must be taken.