Amravati, Maharashtra: Officials in Amravati have said that the District Women's Hospital had undergone regular fire audits and had also applied for this year's audit before a fire in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) claimed the lives of three newborns.

The fire broke out around 3:15 am on the third floor of the hospital, where the NICU is located. According to preliminary information, a ventilator may have sparked and triggered the blaze. While three newborns died in the incident, 36 other children were rescued safely.

Amravati District Magistrate Ashish Yerekar said records showed that fire audits had been carried out regularly and that the hospital had already applied for a fresh audit with the Public Works Department's electrical wing. He said the administration is now focusing on examining the equipment suspected to have caused the fire.

“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,” Yerekar said. He added that if any administrative lapse is found, action will be taken, and if the equipment itself is found faulty, the company responsible will also face strict action.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed grief over the deaths and announced ₹5 lakh compensation for the families of the victims. He also ordered a high level inquiry and said strict action would be taken against those found responsible.

“The incident of the death of three children in the fire that broke out last night at the District Women's Hospital in Amravati is extremely tragic and heart wrenching. We share in the grief of their families,” Fadnavis said. He added that the Health Minister and the Secretary had been instructed to visit Amravati immediately.

Families of the children admitted in the ward alleged that the hospital's water spray system did not activate when the fire broke out. They said the emergency system should have started automatically and that the failure added to the tragedy.

Relatives described scenes of panic as flames spread through the ward. Some said they struggled to rescue their children in the chaos and demanded accountability from the hospital administration.

One parent, Yogesh Savarkar, said he managed to bring his eight-day-old child to safety after hearing about the fire. He recalled seeing black ashes on some of the other children and said security guards and hospital staff helped in the rescue effort.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and officials said the inquiry will determine whether the incident resulted from equipment failure, administrative lapses or both.