More than 14 newborns died after a sudden fire broke out at a Pakistan hospital

According to Geo News, the emergency doors at the affected PIMS ward reportedly had rusted locks at the time of the fire.

The reported condition of the emergency exits could have affected evacuation efforts and is expected to be a key point in the inquiry into the tragedy.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has summoned an emergency meeting following the deadly fire at PIMS Hospital in Islamabad and ordered an immediate investigation into the incident.

The prime minister has directed authorities to identify those responsible and said strict action will be taken against anyone found responsible for the tragedy.

Sources say 16 newborns were inside the third block of the MCH Ward at PIMS Hospital when the fire erupted.

According to the latest information, one newborn was successfully rescued, while 14 deaths have been confirmed. The status of the remaining newborn is being clarified by authorities.

Sources say water and firefighting equipment were not available at the designated fire point when the blaze broke out at PIMS Hospital in Islamabad.

The reported lack of immediate firefighting resources is expected to be examined by the eight-member inquiry committee constituted by the Islamabad District Administration to investigate the incident.

The committee will look into possible safety and emergency-response lapses surrounding the fire, which resulted in the deaths of 14 newborns.

A sense of shock and grief continues outside PIMS Hospital in Islamabad following the deadly fire that claimed the lives of 14 newborns.

Police remain deployed at the hospital entrance, while fire engines are still parked outside. Shattered glass and medical masks can be seen scattered around the pavement.

Families of the victims were seen crying outside the ward. One grieving father told reporters that his three-day-old baby had died in the fire.

Hivsa Walid, who was inside the hospital with her sister-in-law who had given birth days earlier, said they were in a nursery opposite the room where the fire started.

She said they heard a shout at around 6am. Initially, they thought someone had died, but soon noticed smoke. She said they immediately picked up the newborn, who was so young that she had not yet been given a name, and ran to safety.

Sources say no doctors, ward boys or other hospital staff were present inside the incubation centre when the fire erupted at PIMS in Islamabad.

The fire broke out at around 6:45am, with the blaze reportedly spreading rapidly after an air-conditioning unit compressor exploded.

The Islamabad District Administration has constituted an eight-member inquiry committee to investigate the deadly fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad.

The committee will investigate the cause of the fire, fire-safety arrangements and the response to the emergency, and determine responsibility for any negligence or lapses.

The inquiry comes after the fire in the hospital’s Mother and Child Health ward left 14 newborns dead, according to the latest official reports.

The emergency exit doors of the affected ward were locked at the time the fire erupted, potentially hindering the evacuation of newborns and other patients.

The development comes as authorities investigate the deadly fire, which has so far been reported to have killed at least 14 newborns. Reuters reports that the blaze began around 7am on the third floor of PIMS’s mother and child health ward and was linked to a fault in the air-conditioning system.

Sources say that the fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad may have gotten going after an air conditioning unit compressor, in the newborn ward, exploded.

Witness accounts suggest the blaze moved very quickly right after that incident , and in the end it led to the deaths of 14 newborn babies.

Right now the suspected reason is still under review, and officials have not yet come out with a final formal determination.

Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has addressed the tragic fire at PIMS Hospital in Islamabad, saying the blaze broke out at around 6:45am Pakistan time and spread rapidly after explosions were heard and electricity went out.

He said doctors and staff were present in the ICU when the fire broke out and that firefighting equipment was available at the hospital.

Kamal confirmed that the deaths of 14 newborns have been verified, while expressing sympathy with the affected families.

The minister said he is currently in Karachi and is travelling to Islamabad, while remaining in contact with the victims’ parents.

He also rejected any suggestion that he would avoid responsibility, saying that if an investigation finds him responsible, he should not be spared.

Police say the newborns who died in the fire have been badly burnt, and will need to be identified in through DNA tests.

Only after the DNA tests can the bodies be returned to their parents, police say.

Police issued the statement in response to demands from parents that the bodies be returned to them immediately.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has released a statement expressing "deep sorrow and heartfelt regret" over the hospital fire.

Sharif has instructed authorities to "conduct an immediate investigation", according to the statement from his office.

"Such a situation with children is irreparable", the statement continues.

Sharif expresses his "heartfelt condolences to the families of the innocent children", adding "his heart is saddened by this tragic incident".

At least 14 children have died after a fire at a maternity unit in a hospital in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad.

Rescue teams have said the fire is now under control and those injured taken to the ICU.

The fire broke out on the third floor of the mother and child unit of PIMS hospital, one of the main state-run hospitals in the city.

According to their spokesperson, 15 newborn babies were in the ward at the time.

TV satellite vans now line the outside of the hospital’s perimeter, waiting for news.

Fourteen newborns have died in the fire, PIMS spokesperson Dr Aneeza Jalil.

One newborn was rescued, Jalil adds.

The hospital will release a statement soon, she say

Emergency responders say they have rescued at least 19 people from the hospital.

They include 10 women, seven children and two men.

A fire has broken out in the neonatal ward of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital in Islamabad and several infants are feared to have died.

Pakistani authorities have dispatched fire trucks, ambulances and emergency responders to the scene.

We will bring you updates on this breaking story as we get them.