Delhi Hospital Blast Case: Seven Newborn Killed, How Did Fire Escalate?

In a tragic incident in the National Capital late at night in a children’s hospital about seven newborns lost their lives. Sadly the owner of the hospital is hiding away and the Delhi police believe that he has fled to Jaipur.  “Twelve newborn babies were rescued from the hospital with the help of other people,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Surendra Choudhary said in a statement, but adding that when they reached medical attention, seven were dead.

The fire, which broke out around 11:32 pm, rapidly intensified due to multiple oxygen cylinders exploding, further spreading the flames and causing significant damage.

“We received the call at 11:32 pm and initially sent out seven fire trucks, followed by an additional fourteen,” Atul Garg, Chief Fire Officer, told NDTV. “There were 4-5 explosions that worsened the fire, with oxygen cylinders being thrown as far as 50 meters away. The building, which was ground plus three stories, had children on the first floor and a storage area on the second. The fire spread to the adjacent floors as well,” he detailed.

Firefighters battled the blaze for three hours, during which time the task of locating and rescuing the infants added to the challenges.

“We did not know the exact number of children inside,” Garg added. “The initial cause of the fire appears to have been an electrical pole igniting, which then set a parked vehicle on fire, eventually causing the oxygen cylinders to catch fire.”

Garg also mentioned that while the building reportedly had a No Objection Certificate (NOC), the fire department had no records of it. “We are verifying the NOC. If it’s found lacking, we will recommend closing the building. An investigation is underway to determine if proper firefighting measures were in place, but it’s difficult to assess right now as the building is completely gutted.”

Realizing the severity of the situation, the hospital’s owner, Naveen Kichi, fled before the police arrived at his home. Authorities believe he may be in Jaipur and have formed a team to locate and arrest him.