14 newborns killed in PIMS nursery fire laid to rest
Fourteen newborns who died in a fire at the PIMS nursery were laid to rest on Thursday as grieving families gathered in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The funerals took place amid emotional scenes, with relatives struggling to cope with the devastating loss. The infants had brought happiness to 14 families before the tragedy ended their lives […]
The National Assembly's Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination met on Thursday to discuss a fire at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), which killed 14 infants. Standing committee chairperson Mahesh Kumar Malani said the fire may have been caused by a "technical fault", contrary to Health Minister Mustafa Kamal's earlier claim that it was a spark in the air conditioner.
Malani stressed that "we have to see whether the fire was the result of negligence or a natural cause" and that the source of the fire was still unknown. He noted that some staff members had reported a spark from an old air conditioner, while others said it was caused by portable units, or a bundle of wires. Malani also noted that one doctor had stated an oxygen cylinder may have exploded, but emphasized that "no one knows the source of the fire" at this point.
The nursery, built in 1990, should have been moved to a new, well-equipped block, according to Malani. He called for answers from the hospital administration and requested information on fire drills, last fire audit, fire alarms, and the functionality of staff during the incident. Committee member Gul Asghar Khan asked about fire drill frequency and the last fire audit, while Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro questioned the presence of staff during the emergency.
Committee member Farakh Khan raised concerns about the nursery's maintenance history, suggesting that if renovations were done, the old air conditioner and exposed wiring were inappropriate. Kamran alleged a deliberate effort to push the narrative that the blaze originated from the air conditioner and demanded the health minister's resignation and suspension of the on-duty staff.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
