14 newborn babies killed in maternity ward hospital fire in Pakistan

Police officers move past an ambulance outside an intensive care unit after a fire broke out at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan, August 26, 2026. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Police officers outside the intensive care unit at the PIMS hospital in Islamabad (Picture: Reuters)

More than a dozen newborn babies have died after a fire broke out inside a maternity ward in a Pakistan hospital.

The fire is now said to be under control after rescue teams attended the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital in Islamabad, with those injured taken to the ICU.

Parents of the infants who were killed in the fire have gathered outside the hospital in tears.

One newborn out of the 15 babies who were in the ward was rescued, a hospital spokesperson told BBC News.

A man also told the publication that his three-day-old baby had died.

The fire broke out on the third floor of the mother and child unit in the PIMS hospital, which is one of the main state-run hospitals in the city.

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A father reacts after the death of his child following a fire incident outside the Mother and Child Health (MCH) ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital in Islamabad on August 26, 2026. A fire at a hospital in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on August 26 morning killed 14 children, a local authority said. (Photo by Aamir QURESHI / AFP via Getty Images)
Parents of the infants who were killed gathered outisde the hospital in tears (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he expresses ‘deep sorrow and has ordered an immediate inquiry

A committee has been tasked with producing a report within 24 hours.

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