DNA

ISLAMABAD (DNA News) Fourteen newborns who died in a fire at the nursery of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) were laid to rest in Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Thursday, as grieving families struggled to come to terms with the devastating loss.

The funerals were held with bereaved parents saying that no inquiry or punishment could bring their children back.

One mother said her family had waited four years to welcome a child, only to lose the newborn within days. A bereaved father said he accepted the tragedy as the will of God but described the loss as unbearable.

Families also raised concerns about conditions at the hospital. A Rawalpindi resident whose newborn daughter died in the incident said the facility was too small for the growing population and lacked adequate medical services.

According to a preliminary report by the hospital administration, a nebuliser near an incubator in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) reportedly burst, causing oxygen to catch fire. The report said smoke entered the infants’ respiratory systems through oxygen piping, while oxygen disruption and burns contributed to their deaths.

Families have called for improved hospital facilities and accountability for those responsible.