Jhansi hospital fire: Another infant dies, toll rises to 12

Principal Dr. N.S. Sengar said that the child passed away around 8.20 p.m. on Sunday and was not injured in the fire. “The child was born in Jalon [district] and was referred here due to absence of crying and was suffering from hypoxic encephalopathy. He died due to the illness and has no connection with the fire incident,” Mr. Sengar said.

The child’s family, however, alleged negligence on part of the hospital administration and said that the baby had been getting better earlier and condition deteriorated after being rescued from the fire. Satte, grandfather of the infant, told The Hindu, “This is clear negligence on their part. There was nobody from the hospital staff to rescue the children properly from fire. We rescued him ourselves and his oxygen supply was cut for a while.”

“Many children were bleeding as their drips had to be removed during the rescue. Had they rescued him properly or even paid attention immediately after the rescue, this would not have happened,” he said, adding that he had enquired about the child’s health many times after the incident but did not get a satisfactory response from the doctors. “They just kept saying his condition is now serious,” he said.