At least four infants died in a fire that broke out in the special newborn care unit of Kamla Nehru Children's Hospital in Bhopal on Monday night. The government has ordered a high-level probe into the incident.
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Officials said a short circuit may have caused the fire and described the situation inside the ward as "very scary".
According to an official, the blaze started on the third floor of the hospital, which houses the ICU.
"Four children died in the fire that broke out in the special newborn care unit (SNCU) ward probably due to a short circuit," Sarang said.
"We reached the spot along with others soon after getting information about the incident. It was dark inside the ward. We shifted the children to the adjacent ward," he said.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each for the family members of the victims, he added.
The fire broke out around 9 pm and around 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flames, officials said.