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At least 15 newborns killed in fire at Islamabad children's hospital nursery

A fire tore through the nursery of the children's ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital in Islamabad overnight, killing at least 15 newborns, according to local media reports. According to Al Jazeera, citing Pakistan's Geo News and hospital officials, only one of the infants in the unit survived the blaze.

Islamabad
Photo: Fassifarooq via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

By Source Reporters Newsdesk

Thu, 27 August 2026 · 1 min read

A fire tore through the nursery of the children's ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital in Islamabad overnight, killing at least 15 newborns, according to local media reports. According to Al Jazeera, citing Pakistan's Geo News and hospital officials, only one of the infants in the unit survived the blaze (Al Jazeera).
Geo News, citing hospital officials, reported on Wednesday that the nursery housed 16 newborns at the time of the incident, and that only one child was rescued (Al Jazeera).
According to officials cited by Geo News, the fire started after an air conditioner compressor exploded inside the nursery. The outlet reported that the blaze has since been extinguished and that firefighters are carrying out cooling operations at the site (Al Jazeera).
The deaths are among the deadliest hospital fires in Pakistan in recent years and are likely to renew scrutiny of fire safety standards and electrical infrastructure at public health facilities across the country, where similar incidents have previously prompted official inquiries.
**Sources:** aljazeera.com

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