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'My child hasn't been found yet': Parents share tragic ordeal after Jhansi hospital fire

Nov 16, 2024 12:40 PM IST

The process to identify three of the ten babies who died in the fire is still underway, with parents seeking answers from authorities over the incident.

Santoshi, a mother from Mahoba district's Parsaha village, is still looking for her 10-day-old baby who was in Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College's NICU.

Seeking answers, family members were seen waiting outside the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical college.(PTI)
Seeking answers, family members were seen waiting outside the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical college.(PTI)

Like Santoshi, several parents and relatives of the newborns who were at the medical facility in Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi shared their ordeal and sought answers from authorities over their missing children.

The fire broke out in the hospital late on Friday in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), claiming the lives of at least 10 newborn babies. More than 50 newborns were undergoing treatment.

ALSO READ | Jhansi hospital fire: 10 newborn babies killed, over 35 rescued; CM Yogi orders probe. What happened? | Key updates

A mother looks for her ‘first baby’

"I don't know where my child is. When the fire broke out, I couldn't go inside to rescue my baby. How could I? When no one was able to get inside, how could anyone hand me my baby? Everyone was running around in panic," Santoshi told news agency ANI.

She said that so many babies were inside the NICU when the fire broke out and it seemed that the babies did not survive. "Some babies couldn't be rescued. It's unclear if they were burned or saved. No one knows what happened to the children," added Santoshi who continues to desperately look for her "first baby".

She said that the hospital did not allow her to see her baby before the fire. "After the fire, I couldn't even look for my baby properly. I searched, but I didn't find him," Santoshi added.

Kuldeep, a resident of Mahoba, was a braveheart at the time of the incident. Not knowing the condition of his own son, who was born 10 days ago, he rushed and rescued three newborns from the hospital, News18 reported. Kuldeep even burnt his own hand in action.

Questions raised against authorities

Rani Sen, a resident of Jhansi's Narayan Bagh, is the aunt of a baby who was admitted to the NICU at the time of the incident. Ever since the fire, Sen has been searching for answers. "It is being said my child is dead, but no one has told me on what basis," she was quoted as saying by ANI. Sen reportedly said that authorities told the parents and relatives to "go in and take your children" after the fire. However, by that time, many of the babies had already died.

Sen raised questions over the identification process being used by the hospital. "They say it's based on the tags on the children. If the identification is based on tags, what about the child I found, who had no tag? I admitted that child under my name to Dr Kuldeep Trivedi's care in the ICU and he is safe now. But that child is not mine. I informed them of this as well," she added.

Rani Sen demanded proof of her baby's death and demanded a DNA test for identification of the victims. "If I hadn't told them I had someone else's child, would they even know it wasn't mine?" she asked.

The Narayan Bagh resident also recounted how the hospital authorities had previously denied her access to her child, citing infection concerns. "For 3-4 days, my child was admitted there. They never allowed us to see the child or go inside. They kept saying the child might get an infection. An now they've declared my child dead. How can I believe this?"

Sen urged the authorities to bring all the surviving babies and children together for identification. And in case if anyone cannot identify their child, she said, then a DNA test should be conducted.

ALSO READ | PM Narendra Modi says Jhansi hospital fire ‘heartbreaking’; CM Yogi announces ex gratia for victims

A Rajgarh grandmother was seen searching for her 20-25-day-old grandchild in the NICU. ANI reported the chaos that she described during the fire at the Medical College. She said everyone rushed as soon as the blaze erupted. "The nurses were pushing people out, not allowing anyone to go inside. When people somehow managed to get inside, whoever could grab a child did so. Some broke in through the windows. My child hasn't been found yet," the grandmother said.

Another grieving mother, a resident of Lalitpur, said that her newborn was admitted at the facility for a month. "Yesterday there was an operation, and after that, the baby was admitted there (NICU)," she said.

Noting that the after the fire broke out around 10 pm on Friday, people rushed inside to take their babies out, but they were stopped by authorities. "Later, we couldn't find the baby though we looked for a long time. Eventually, we were told that the baby died in the fire," the mother shared her heartbreaking ordeal.

Notably, Deputy chief minister Brijesh Pathak had said that a total of 49 children were in the war, which has a capacity of only 18 beds.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, and UP CM Yogi Adityanath condoled the unfortunate incident. CM Yogi's office said that the government announced an ex gratia amount of 5 lakh each for the parents of the babies who died in the incident, while 50,000 for the families of the injured babies.

3 babies still being identified

Meanwhile, Chief Medical Superintendent Sachin Mahor said that the process of identifying the remaining three of the ten babies who died in the hospital fire is still underway.

Mahor also confirmed that the fire, caused by a short circuit, broke out between 10:30 pm and 10:45 pm. He said that 39 of the 49 babies in the NICU were rescued and are now stable.

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