Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday visited Bhandara district general hospital and announced that a team comprising Divisional Commissioner, former Mumbai fire brigade chief will probe the fire incident in which 10 newborns died.
Speaking to reporters after the visit, CM also informed that the fire safety audit of all government hospitals will be done soon.
Thackeray flew in from Mumbai in the afternoon and met parents of the babies who died in the fire on Saturday. He also spoke to hospital and health officials.
The chief minister told reporters that he met the kin of the victims with folded hands.
"I could not find words to console them," he said.
"The probe we have announced will also check if the fire was an accident or something which happened as a result of ignoring earlier safety report," Thackeray said.
"I have also issued orders to check if there have been any incidents in the state of ignoring safety norms at hospitals while combating the coronavirus pandemic," he said.
Thackeray was accompanied by Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Nana Patole during the visit.
Ten babies died after the fire broke out on Saturday at the Special Newborn Care Unit of the four-storeyed district hospital in Maharashtra's Bhandara district town, about 900 km from the state capital Mumbai.
The fire broke out around 1.30 am in the outborn section of the hospital, an official said.
The outborn section is for children born elsewhere but referred to the government hospital for special treatment.
(With inputs from PTI)
