7 babies killed in fire at Delhi children's  hospital

At least seven newborns died in a massive fire that broke out at a children's hospital in Delhi late Saturday, officials said.

The Delhi Fire Services said it received a call about a fire at 11.32 pm at a baby care center in the Vivek Vihar area in East Delhi, following which as many as 16 fire tenders were rushed to the site.

Officials said that 12 newborns were rescued from the first floor of the building but seven died while getting treatment at the hospital. Five children are currently being treated at the hospital.

Delhi Police has registered an FIR against Naveen Kichi, the owner of the New Born Baby Care Hospital, under sections 336 (endangering life of personal safety of others), 304A (death by negligence) and 34 (criminal activity) of the IPC. He is currently absconding. A police team has been dispatched to Jaipur, where Kichi is believed to be in hiding.

In a brief statement, DCP Shahdara said, "In the hospital, there were 12 newborns admitted. They were all rescued and shifted to the East Delhi Advance NICU Hospital, Vivek Vihar for treatment. Out of these babies, six were declared brought dead and one died earlier. The seven bodies have been further shifted to GTB Hospital for postmortem."

At about 11.30 pm on Saturday, the Vivek Vihar police station received a call regarding the blaze at the New Born Baby Care Hospital, as well as an adjacent building.

Top police officials rushed to the spot to enquire about the incident, while 16 fire tenders were dispatched by the Delhi Fire Services. The blaze was doused in the early hours of Sunday. There were no reports of casualties or injuries from the building adjacent to the hospital, which was also engulfed in flames. Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg said an oxygen cylinder blast was the likely cause of the fire.

The Prime Minister's Office has announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the families of each of the seven victims, while Rs 50,000 for the kin of the injured babies. On his part, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called the hospital fire "heartbreaking", adding that the "causes of the incident are being investigated and whoever is responsible for this negligence will not be spared".