UP hospital fire: PM Modi announces ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for next of kin of each deceased

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday condoled the death of children in a fire that engulfed the children's ward of a medical college in Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi district and announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased.

At least 10 children died in a fire that engulfed the children's ward of the medical college in Jhansi district, officials said, as 16 others injured battled for life on Saturday.

District Magistrate (DM) Avinash Kumar told reporters that the fire broke out around 10.45 pm on Friday in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College possibly due to an electrical short circuit.

"Heartbreaking! The fire accident at Jhansi Medical College in Uttar Pradesh is heart-wrenching. My deepest condolences to those who lost their innocent children in this. I pray to God to give them the strength to bear this immense loss," Modi was quoted as saying in a post in Hindi on X by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

"The local administration, under the supervision of the state government, is making every possible effort for relief and rescue," he said.

In another post, the PMO said Prime Minister Modi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for the next of kin of each deceased in the mishap in the fire accident at the Jhansi Medical College in Uttar Pradesh.

The injured would be given Rs 50,000, the PMO said.

The children, who were in the outer part of the NICU, were rescued along with some of those who were in the interior part.

"Prima facie there is information of the death of 10 children," the DM said.

Those less critical are admitted in the outer section of the NICU while the more critical patients are kept in the interior part, he added.