At least 15 newborns killed in Pakistan hospital fire

What the report says

At least 14 newborn babies were killed in a fire at the nursery of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), a government-run hospital in Islamabad, according to Al Jazeera’s report and local broadcaster Geo TV. Geo TV, citing hospital sources, said the toll could be 15 and reported that only one infant was rescued. The fire broke out on the third floor of the hospital’s Mother and Child Centre on Wednesday morning, shortly before 7am local time, and was later extinguished.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he had ordered an immediate investigation and promised strict action against anyone found responsible. In a statement on X, he expressed condolences to the families affected by the disaster. Rescue sources quoted by Geo TV said the blaze may have started because of a short circuit in a malfunctioning air-conditioning unit, though that cause was not confirmed in the article.

The deaths highlight longstanding concerns about fire safety and infrastructure in Pakistan, where building regulations are often weakly enforced. More broadly, Al Jazeera noted that the country’s public health system is underfunded and overcrowded, making major hospital emergencies especially difficult to manage. The incident is described as one of the deadliest hospital fires in Pakistan’s history.