Following the fire at a hospital in Vivek Vihar, Delhi, which left seven babies dead, angry mothers gathered outside the premises and claimed that none of the officials informed them about the blaze.
The fire is believed to have erupted late on Saturday. Twelve babies were rescued from the burning building, but seven died.
Speaking to the PTI, one mother said her 17-day-old baby was admitted at the hospital for an illness. She said they would ask the staff to let one person of the family stay with the baby, but the hospital authorities would always say no.
The mother said she called the hospital multiple times after coming to know about the fire but nobody answered, PTI reported.
The aunt of the baby said she saw the infant at 9 pm on Saturday, reiterating the allegation that none of the family members, including the mother, was allowed to stay at the hospital. She said they found out about the fire from the news.
Speaking to ANI, the mother said her baby would have been in the hospital for the third day today (Sunday). “He had a 105 fever, and the hospital authorities said he would be alright after staying in the hospital for a while.” The aunt said they went to East Delhi’s Advance Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) hospital, where the rescued infants were shifted, and recognised their baby but the NICU authorities said they would only hand over the baby after a DNA test.
Another mother who spoke to PTI questioned why the hospital staff didn't inform them about the fire. “They set our children on fire," she was quoted as saying.
Ankit Bansal, a local resident who helped rescue babies from the hospital, said that the nurses had come out and asked for help when the fire erupted.
"There was a huge blast at around 11:30 PM. It led to a massive fire. We came to know that the oxygen cylinder had exploded. There was a huge blaze at the front gate. We could not go inside. Nurses came out from the backside clamouring to save the newborns.”
A few other men joined Bansal to help rescue the babies and set a ladder against the back of the building.
“We started rescuing the babies. 3-4 babies were fine. If they had got timely care, they would have been saved. We rescued all the babies. The fire was doused by around 12.45 am. The fire was at the front."