Amravati (Maharashtra) [India], August 25 : Thirty-six newborns were shifted to a safe location after a major fire broke out at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Amravati District Women's Hospital, with authorities taking the step as a precaution over concerns that smoke from the fire could affect the babies' lungs, District Civil Surgeon Dr Vinod Pawar said on Tuesday.
Speaking to ANI about the incident, Dr Pawar said, "There is no information about the children being injured in the fire. However, considering the possibility that the smoke that spread during the fire could affect their lungs, we did not want to take any risk."
He said, "A total of 36 children have been shifted to a safe location. One child was sent back to the mother after observation, while the remaining children have been kept admitted and are being monitored. The hospital team is continuously following up on their health."
On questions over the fire audit, Pawar said, "The fire audit was due to expire on August 21. Before that, the hospital administration had sent a letter to the Electrical Department of the Public Works Department. Discussions were underway with the concerned department, and a hospital employee was continuously following up on it."
On the high-level inquiry ordered into the incident, he said, "This is a high-level inquiry committee. When the committee will begin the investigation and how much time it will take to submit the report will be decided by the committee. I cannot give any definite timeline in this regard. At present, the hospital team is regularly taking care of and following up on the newborns who have been shifted to other hospitals."
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Health Minister Prakash Abitkar termed the fire incident at the Amravati government hospital as "unfortunate" and announced that a high-level committee has been constituted to probe the matter, with a report expected within eight days.
Speaking on the tragic incident, Abitkar stated that site inspections have already been carried out by the Public Works Department (PWD) and other relevant officials.
"This is an unfortunate incident. Following the event, officials from the Public Works Department and others conducted a site visit. We have now constituted a committee chaired by the Health Commissioner; we expect to receive the committee's report within eight days and will take action based on its findings," the Health Minister said.

The Minister further informed that the probe team would include experts to ensure a thorough investigation. "The committee will include the Health Commissioner and an official from AIIMS," he added.
A fire broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the District Women's Hospital in Amravati in the early hours of Monday. According to officials, the fire broke out at around 3.15 am in the NICU on the third floor, with a ventilator reportedly sparking and triggering the blaze
Officials said the NICU had several sections catering to newborns requiring different levels of care. The fire reportedly originated in the section housing outborn babies. Six infants were subsequently shifted to a super-speciality hospital, according to officials.