Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif orders the suspension of eight officials and directs criminal proceedings against them following a hospital fire in Islamabad that kills 14 newborn babies.
Sharif issues the orders after an investigative committee presents its interim report on the fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, PIMS, a government-run hospital in the capital.
The fire breaks out shortly before 7 a.m. on Wednesday at the mother and Child Healthcare Centre, starting inside a neonatal nursery before spreading rapidly through oxygen outlets connected to incubators.
The blaze remains confined to the third-floor nursery, but its rapid spread leaves staff with little time to respond.
Officials say 15 babies are being cared for in the ward when the fire starts, but staff manage to rescue only one child.
Sharif describes the deaths as a heartbreaking tragedy and promises that those responsible wills face severe punishment.
“The deaths of these innocent children are a heartbreaking tragedy that has left the entire nation grieving,” the prime minister says.
The eight suspended officials include PIMS’s executive director, two joint executive directors, the head of the neonatal department, two senior doctors, a security official and the head of the Capital Development Authority’s emergency services.
Sharif also approves action against the private company responsible for security at the hospital and officials associated with the firm.
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He appoints the chief executive of the National Institutes of Health as acting director of PIMS while further investigations continue.
The interim inquiry raises serious concerns about fire safety and emergency preparedness at the hospital. According to the report, PIMS has no meaningful fire safety protocols in place, while only two of its 13 standard operating procedures specifically address fire or emergency situations.
The investigation also finds that supervisory staff are not on duty when the fire starts. Only two nurses, a female security guard and a house officer are present in the ward at the time of the incident, according to the report.
Emergency services are not contacted until six minutes after the fire begins, while the first responders arrive about 15 minutes after receiving the call. The inquiry also highlights concerns over previous safety warnings.
A separate fire occurs at the hospital’s nursing hostel about a month before the nursery blaze, but the incident does not result in significant safety improvements, according to the interim findings.
Amid the tragedy, nurse Razia Noreen is recognized for her efforts to save one of the babies during the fire. The inquiry says Noreen pulls a child to safety before flames engulf the nursery.
Sharif awards her the Sitara-i-Khidmat state honour for public service and a cash reward of one million Pakistani rupees, worth nearly $3,500.
Her actions are praised as an example of courage during an emergency that claims the lives of 14 newborns.
The hospital fire also triggers wider criticism of Pakistan’s healthcare system. Health Minister Mustafa Kamal describes the country’s health system as “rotten” and supports calls for a parliamentary investigation into the incident.
The government also announces compensation of five million Pakistani rupees, approximately $17,700, for each affected family.
The compensation is intended to provide immediate financial assistance to families dealing with the loss of their newborn children.
Meanwhile, the criminal proceedings and administrative measures ordered by the prime minister are expected to examine individual responsibility, hospital management failures and the wider shortcomings in emergency preparedness.
The investigation is also expected to determine how the fire spreads so quickly through the nursery and why emergency response is delayed.
Authorities face growing pressure to strengthen fire safety standards, emergency procedures and supervision at government hospitals to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring again.
Al Jazeera
