ISLAMABAD: A fire that killed 14 infants at a maternity ward in Pakistan's capital last month followed "systemic and institutional failure" at the hospital, according to an official inquiry.
The devastating dawn blaze broke out on the third floor of the Mother and Child Health Ward at Islamabad's premier public hospital, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), on Aug 26.
The official report, dated Sept 7 and seen by AFP on Thursday (Sept 17), found there were no working smoke detectors or sprinklers and that the probable cause of the fire was a faulty air conditioning unit.
Witnesses described chaotic and harrowing scenes to AFP on the day of the tragedy, including intense smoke and broken glass, and a slow response from emergency services.
One mother who lost her infant in the fire said a door to the neonatal intensive care unit was locked, hampering rescue efforts.
The 42-page report, released within weeks of the fire, said "that systemic and institutional failure is established, while individual responsibility varies with the strength of the evidence".
"PIMS and its senior management bear the principal institutional responsibility for failing to convert known risks, prior warnings and assigned duties into an effective safety system," it said.
Fires in large buildings are frequent in Pakistan, often due to poor safety laws and building codes as well as lax enforcement and emergency procedures.
The report into the hospital fire found that no "nursery-specific" evacuation procedures followed, "nor was a functional automatic smoke detection, alarm or sprinkler system shown to be serving the affected area".
"The strongest technical evidence" showed the "most probable point of ignition" to be a power supply cable to an AC unit, the report added.
Despite multiple claims that the emergency response had been slow, the report said that it rejected "any generalised allegation that frontline personnel abandoned the newborns".
At the time of the fire, Prime Minister Sharif called for an investigation and said the "strictest possible action" should be taken against those found to be responsible. - AFP
