The kitchen at the Windhoek Central Hospital's maternity ward caught fire on Friday evening. It is suspected that one of the staff members might have left the stove on.

When the nbc news team arrived at the scene, emergency personnel were busy containing the fire.

Some of the new mothers made their way to the back of the hospital and could be seen cuddling their newborn babies, some were born prematurely.

A few mothers opted to call their family members to fetch them and take them home, as they said they couldn't stand for long because of the operations they underwent.

Inside, a heavy stench of smoke filled the ward and some areas had to be ventilated.

The mothers and their babies were allowed back into the hospital after an hour or so when the situation was declared safe.