Islamabad: The bodies of all 14 newborns who died in Wednesday’s fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) nursery were identified through intact wrist tags and handed over to their parents, with no DNA testing required as they were not charred beyond recognition, hospital authorities told The News.
PIMS Executive Director Dr Rana Imran Sikandar said the newborns died of soot inhalation injuries during the fire at the Maternal and Child Health Centre, while their identification tags remained intact.
“All the bodies were identifiable. Their wrist tags were intact, and they were handed over to their parents in accordance with the hospital record,” he said.
The clarification came amid speculation that DNA testing might be needed to establish the identities of the newborns after the early-morning blaze in the neonatal nursery on the third floor of the MCH Centre.
Hospital records showed that 15 newborns were present in the affected nursery when the fire broke out at around 6:38am. Fourteen died while one baby was rescued.
In its preliminary account, PIMS said a spark inside the nursery triggered the blaze, which spread within seconds in an area where critically ill newborns were receiving oxygen support through incubators.
The hospital said two doctors and two nurses were on duty and called security staff after the fire broke out. It said staff attempted twice to enter the nursery to rescue the babies, but a major blast occurred at around 6:39am and the ceiling collapsed.
PIMS said one newborn was rescued from the nursery, while four other patients from an adjoining room, three mothers and 73 patients from the adjacent gynaecology ward were evacuated.
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