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Mangaluru: In the wee hours of August 24, a fire broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the District Women’s Hospital in Maharashtra’s Amravati. Three newborn children died immediately. Another six newborns, reportedly injured, were moved to a super speciality hospital.

While the actual cause of the incident has not been officially announced, a few hospital staff, in their initial comments, have claimed that a ventilator inside the NICU had exploded and that the fire intensified because of the stored oxygen cylinders in the room.

Soon after the incident, the chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, immediately announced an inquiry into the incident. A high-level inquiry committee has been set up to investigate the incident, he said. The families of the deceased will be provided with financial assistance of Rs. 5 lakh, he announced.

अमरावती येथील जिल्हा स्त्री रुग्णालयात काल रात्री लागलेल्या आगीत तीन बालकांचा मृत्यू झाल्याची घटना अतिशय दुःखद आणि हृदयद्रावक आहे. त्यांच्या कुटुंबियांच्या दुःखात आम्ही सहभागी आहोत. या घटनेची उच्चस्तरीय चौकशी करण्याचे आदेश आरोग्य........

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