Dad Breaks Window to Save 7 Infants in NICU Hospital Fire, but Wasn’t Able to Rescue His Twin Daughters

Mar. 15, 2025

Firefighters at Jhansi Medical College hospital, in Jhansi, India, Nov. 15, 2024.Photo:AP Photo

AP Photo

A father managed to rescue seven infants, but he wasn’t able to save his twin daughters during last weekend’sdeadly hospital fire in India that killed 10 newborns.

Indian news outlets, includingIndia Today,National HeraldandThe Economic Times, reported that Yakoob Mansuri, 27, was outside the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, where his newborn twin daughters were receiving treatment, in Jhansi, in Uttar Pradesh state, on Friday, Nov. 15.

According to theNational Herald, a woman who was feeding her child at the sick newborn care unit (SNCU), came out screaming about a fire at the hospital.

That was when Mansuri rushed to the NICU ward and smashed a window to enter,India Todayreported. “It was a massive fire that no one could brave,” he recalled, according to the outlet.

“I could not enter the ward where my daughters were admitted because the fire was so intense,” Mansuri added. “Other parents also tried, but they too failed. Then we started rescuing infants from other wards. I took out seven children.”

Mansuri further recalled the harrowing experience toNational Herald:“There was only a small opening to the inner unit of the SNCU. The entrance is barely large enough for one person to go through. We started feeling nauseous within minutes. How could the babies have endured it?”

The bodies of Mansuri’s twin daughters were later identified on Saturday, Nov. 16,The Economic Timesreported.

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Mansuri and his wife had originally brought their twins to the hospital for specialized care concerning their breathing issues.

“We never imagined, not even in our worst dreams, that we would see our babies in the condition they were in at the post-mortem house,” he told theNational Herald.

According to theAssociated Press, citing officials, there were 55 babies who were being treated at the NICU at the time of the fire; 45 of them were rescued. In addition to the 10 who died, 16 were injured.

An electrical short circuit or a defect in a machine used to raise oxygen levels in the NICU may be potential causes for the fire, according to officials,BBC Newsreported.

The AP reported that according to officials, based on an initial investigation, such safety deficiencies, including expired fire extinguishers and non-working fire alarms, hampered authorities’ rescue efforts.

In a post onX(formerly known as Twitter), Brajesh Pathak, deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, commented on the tragedy, saying on Nov. 15: “The death of many newborn babies in the unfortunate accident of fire in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (SNCU Ward) of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, Jhansi today is extremely sad and heartbreaking.”

Pathak alsospoke with the bereaved familiesof the children injured in the fire andvisited the accident site.  Additionally, he shared onXthat there will bea three-tier investigationinto the fire, adding: “The fire department will also investigate. Along with this, instructions have also been given for a magisterial inquiry into the incident.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also posted a message onXand described the deaths of the children as “heartbreaking.”

“My deepest condolences to those who have lost their innocent children in this. I pray to God to give them the strength to bear this immense loss,” Modi wrote, adding: “The local administration, under the supervision of the state government, is making every possible effort for relief and rescue.“PEOPLE contacted Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College for comment on Monday, Nov. 18.

source: people.com