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Jhansi Hospital fire: After worst fears, it’s tears of joy for Mahoba couple
Admitted to the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi due to a blood infection, the child was among the babies at the neonatal intensive care unit when a devastating fire broke out on Friday night, claiming the lives of 10 newborns.
After having been clueless for over a day in the wake of the Jhansi medical college tragedy, the brilliance of hope dispelled the darkness of despair for a Mahoba couple, unleashing tears of joy as they found their newborn son was alive and under treatment at a private hospital.
For hours, Rani, a painter, and his wife Neelu, had searched in vain for their child. On not finding him, they had feared that he had perished in the blaze.
Admitted to the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi due to a blood infection, the child was among the babies at the neonatal intensive care unit when a devastating fire broke out on Friday night, claiming the lives of 10 newborns.
Kuldeep had rescued five babies, but could not find his own son then. The couple had been blessed with the child after seven years of marriage, on November 9. They searched for their baby for more than 24 hours, even protesting before the authorities.
Kuldeep said, “We presumed our baby was among the dead, and the authorities were not disclosing any information.”
On Sunday morning, before leaving for Mahoba, they met additional district magistrate, City, Shashi Pandey.
Pandey took them to a private hospital where they found their son. A woman had admitted the child to the hospital of Dr Kuldeep Trivedi. On seeing the baby alive, the couple down. The baby, however, remains under treatment.
Yakub Ansari from Maudaha, Hamirpur, was not so fortunate. He entered the raging fire for his two daughters, who were admitted to the NICU, and managed to save at least four babies. However, he lost his daughters in the fire.
The number includes the 10 babies who died of burns.
Among the 39 babies rescued, one died due to a critical illness on Sunday. All the rescued babies have been handed over to their family members on Saturday and Sunday.
Initially unidentified, three of the deceased babies were later recognised by their family members. Seven other deceased infants were identified by the tags on their thumbs or toes.
“All 49 babies have been identified after a careful vetting process,” said Jhansi district magistrate Avinash Kumar.
“Ten of them died from burns, and their bodies have been given to the family members,” he said.
The post-mortem revealed that the victims had suffered 70 to 80% burns, according to people familiar with the details.
“There was chaos and despair after the tragedy struck. Many people took the babies to private hospitals during the rescue operation. The administration and the medical college then began the process of verifying the parents claiming the babies or the bodies. They were handed over after a multi-layered vetting process,” said Kumar, adding the nine families were given cheques for compensation as well.
Meanwhile, the local administration will not conduct the inquiry but a panel of experts led by director general of medical education Kinjal Singh would do the job, said people aware of the details.
Another inquiry committee led by Jhansi divisional commissioner Vimal Kumar Dubey has recorded statements of affected families and the hospital staff. The multi-level inquiry was announced by deputy chief minister Brijesh Pathak in Jhansi on Saturday.
