Maharashtra hospital fire: CM orders probe, announces ₹5 lakh aid for victim's kin | Highlights
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday expressed grief over the death of three infants in a fire at the District Women's Hospital in Amravati and ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident.
The state government will provide ₹5 lakh in financial assistance to the family of each deceased child, Fadnavis said in a statement.
A ventilator in the government hospital's NICU, which houses premature and critically ill babies, caught fire at around 3.15 a.m., claiming the lives of three children, officials said.
Fadnavis said the incident was "extremely tragic and heartbreaking" and expressed solidarity with the families of the deceased.
Fortunately, 36 children were rescued safely from the hospital during the incident, he noted.
The health administration has been directed to conduct a high-level inquiry, the CM said, and assured that the strictest action would be taken against those found responsible for the tragedy.
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Key Updates
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Health Minister Prakash Abitkar forms new panel
Maharashtra Health Minister Prakash Abitkar forms 7-member panel to probe fire at NICU in government hospital. - PTI
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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis releases statement
Fadnavis expressed deep grief over the 'heart-breaking' incident and ordered a high-level probe to investigate the cause of the fire and pinpoint administrative failures.
"The health administration has been directed to conduct a high-level inquiry," Fadnavis said in a statement, assuring that the strictest action would be taken against those found responsible.
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Three newborns; 36 rescued, probe ordered
Three newborn infants died after the devastating fire, prompting the state government to order a high-level inquiry into the tragedy.
Thirty-six other infants were also rescued from the smoke-filled facility inside a section of the NICU housing premature, low-weight, and critically ill babies, officials said.
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Six infants shifted to Super Speciality Hospital
As many as 36 other newborns were rescued after the incident, which occurred at the District Women's Hospital.
The NICU has three compartments: one each for inborn and outborn babies, and one for step‑down care for children ready to be discharged, Amravati Police Commissioner Rakesh Ola said, adding that 39 infants were admitted across the three sections.
A ventilator in the outborn babies' compartment caught fire. Three of the newborns there died, while the other six babies were rescued, the official said.
Another official said six infants have been admitted to a super-speciality hospital. - PTI -
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No lapses in fire auditing, fault with equipment under probe: District Magistrate
Asgusg Yerekar, Amaravati District Magistrate, rubbished the allegations of failure to conduct fire audtiting of the government hospital building.
“They have also applied for this year's fire audit with the PWD electrical wing. I have seen the documents myself, so it is not the case that the fire audit was skipped. Fire audits have been conducted regularly. Our main issue here is the equipment, specifically the unit that triggered the automatic alert, and we need to examine what fault lies within it,” he said.
He added that if there is a fault in the company's equipment, we will take strict action against the company as well.
He pointed out that no one would be spared if any administrative lapses came to light. - ANI
#WATCH | Amravati, Maharashtra: Ashish Yerekar, District Magistrate, says, "No, the fire audit for last year was indeed conducted, and they have also applied for this year's fire audit with the PWD Electrical wing. I have seen the documents myself, so it is not the case that the… https://t.co/cV362Uqdru pic.twitter.com/29V2L8ANpA
— ANI (@ANI) August 24, 2026 -
Saw infants covered in ashes, recalls parent
Yogesh Savarkar, a resident of Achalpur in Amravati, said his wife and eight‑day‑old child were admitted to the hospital, while he was sleeping outside the building when the fire broke out.
Savarkar said his child was on the first floor of the hospital. As flames spread through one of the wards, he rushed upstairs, rescued his baby, and carried him down to safety.
The situation was extremely difficult, with fire spreading above the children admitted in the ward, he and relatives of some other children recalled.
“My child was on the first floor, and I personally went and brought him down. However, I could see black ashes on the other children in the hospital,” Savarkar said.- PTI
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Health dept to conduct high-level probe
Chief Minister directed the health administration to conduct a high-level probe into the fire accident. He assured that the strictest action would be taken against those found responsible for the tragedy.
He directed the state health minister and health secretary to visit Amravati on Monday to take stock of the situation.
Fadnavis also directed the Amravati district administration to ensure that the injured children receive treatment at government expense. - PTIअमरावती येथील जिल्हा स्त्री रुग्णालयात काल रात्री लागलेल्या आगीत तीन बालकांचा मृत्यू झाल्याची घटना अतिशय दुःखद आणि हृदयद्रावक आहे. त्यांच्या कुटुंबियांच्या दुःखात आम्ही सहभागी आहोत.
— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) August 24, 2026
या घटनेची उच्चस्तरीय चौकशी करण्याचे आदेश आरोग्य प्रशासनाला देण्यात आले आहेत. या घटनेतील दोषींवर… -
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Govt announces ₹5 lakh ex-gratia
“The state government will provide financial assistance of 5 lakh rupees to the families of the deceased. Instructions have also been given to the Amravati District Collector to provide treatment to the injured children at government expense. Fortunately, 36 children were successfully rescued unharmed in this incident,” announced Chief Minister Fadnavis.
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NICU Ventilator caught fire, three newborns killed
Three newborns lost their lives after a blaze erupted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of a government hospital in Maharashtra’s Amravati city early on Monday, officials said.
Also Read:
As many as 36 other newborns were rescued after the incident, which occurred at the District Women's Hospital, Amravati Police Commissioner Rakesh Ola told PTI.
A ventilator in the hospital's NICU, which houses premature and critically ill babies, caught fire at around 3.15 am, he said. - PTI
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