Prime Minister Narendra Modi mourned the death of children and declared an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of every dead in a fire that engulfed the children's ward of a medical college in Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi district.
At least 10 children are reported to have died in a fire that engulfed the children's ward of the medical college in the Jhansi district, officials said on Saturday as 16 others injured battled for life.
District Magistrate (DM) Avinash Kumar told reporters that the fire broke out around 10.45 pm on Friday in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College possibly due to an electrical short circuit.
Heart-breaking! Fire accident at Jhansi Medical College in UP is heart-wrenching. Condolences to parents who have lost their innocent children in it. Praying to God to give them strength to cope with this irreparable loss, Modi said in a post in Hindi on X by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
"The local administration, under the supervision of the state government, is making every possible effort for relief and rescue," he said.
The PMO, in another post, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for the next of kin of each deceased in the mishap in the fire accident at the Jhansi Medical College in Uttar Pradesh.
Injured people would be given Rs 50,000, the PMO added.
The children were in the outer portion of the NICU. Other children who were in the interior part were also rescued along with the former.
"Prima facie there is information of the death of 10 children," said the DM.
He further added that the less critical patients are admitted into the outer section of NICU, whereas the more critical patients kept in the interior part.
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