14 Newborns Die in Fire at Islamabad Maternity Hospital

A fire erupted in a maternity ward in Pakistan's capital on Wednesday, killing 14 children, the Islamabad district office said. 

The fire broke out on the third floor of the Mother and Child Health Ward at the public Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital, the district office said in a statement. "A total of 14 children died in the incident," it said, without giving their



ages.

The statement did not state the cause of the fire. Sohail Ashraf, the Islamabad chief commissioner, said on X that rescue teams, specialists, police and himself "immediately reached at site and controlled the fire". 

He said the emergency call was made just before 7:00 am (0200 GMT). Fires in large buildings are frequent in Pakistan, often due to poor safety laws and building codes as well as lax enforcement.