A father’s hope cut short as fire incident at RIMS claims newborn daughter in Telangana’s Adilabad

Health Minister C. Damodar Raja Narasimha inspects the fire accident site at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Adilabad on Tuesday.
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ARRANGEMENT

ADILABAD

Salim Khan of Ichoda had hoped his five-day-old preterm daughter would recover and return home. But the late-night fire on Monday at the Special Neonatal Care Unit (SNCU) of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Adilabad turned that hope into grief.

He had hoped to take her home after her recovery, even as his wife was recovering in the maternity ward of another hospital in the town following a Caesarean section.

His daughter was among three infants who died after reportedly inhaling smoke following the fire, which reportedly broke out after an air-conditioner caught fire.

The baby, who was on ventilator support at the SNUC, died in the incident. Two other infants, one from Indervelli and another from Utnoor mandal, succumbed in the early hours of Tuesday while undergoing treatment at hospitals in Adilabad and Nizamabad, sources said.

“Smoke had clouded my daughter’s face when she was brought out of the SNUC amid suffocating conditions,” said Salim Khan, visibly shaken by the loss. “We admitted her hoping she would recover soon and return home. But those hopes were shattered by the fire.”

Around 27 infants were reportedly present in the SNUC when the incident occurred.

According to eyewitness accounts, the prompt evacuation of the infants by RIMS staff and patients’ attendants helped prevent further casualties as thick smoke quickly filled the SCNU.

Despite poor visibility and suffocating conditions, they moved the infants out of the unit and shifted them to safety.

“As soon as I noticed thick smoke coming out of the SNUC, I rushed to rescue the infants,” said a patient attendant who was in the hospital corridor at the time.

“I, along with others, broke open the glass windows to allow the smoke to escape and then entered the SNUC, covering my face with my T-shirt. Despite the thick smoke, I saw hospital staff and family members carrying the infants out in their arms. They were later shifted to nearby children’s hospitals in ambulances,” he recalled.

Another eyewitness, a woman who was at the hospital, said she heard a loud noise before rushing towards the SNUC. “I found the ward filled with dark smoke. I immediately brought my preterm granddaughter out before the smoke intensified,” she said, expressing anguish over the incident in a unit meant to provide critical care to premature and vulnerable newborns.

The prompt evacuation was crucial in preventing further loss of life, an eyewitness said.

A relative of an infant from Utnoor raised concerns over the need for regular maintenance of the air-conditioning systems in the SNUC, which operates round-the-clock.

The remaining 24 infants were shifted to various children’s hospitals for continued treatment and were reported to be in stable condition, according to officials.