Pakistan Hospital Fire
Police officers stand guard outside a nursery following a fire at a hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026.
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Officials say a fire triggered by an exploding air conditioner has killed 14 newborns in a hospital nursery in Pakistan’s capital. The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences says one baby of the 15 in the nursery at the time was rescued. Television footage showed rescue workers using ladders to reach the third-floor nursery through broken windows. Grieving parents and relatives gathered at the hospital, some weeping while others demanded answers about how the fire began. The government has opened an investigation.
Investigators are visiting the hospital nursery in Pakistan's capital where a fire killed 14 newborn babies. Grieving families and the public are seeking answers about the cause of the blaze and the safety measures at the major government facility in Islamabad. The fire on Wednesday was confined to the nursery and officials said the fire spread so quickly that staff were able to rescue only one baby among the 15 on the maternity ward. The investigators were to take statements from staff and relatives on Thursday. Hospital and district officials initially said an exploding air-conditioning unit caused the fire. The hospital now says a blast involving a nebulizer sparked the blaze.
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