Bhandara fire tragedy: Hospital guard, friends help rescue seven newborns

Bhandara (Maharashtra) [India], January 9 : A guard at Bhandara District General Hospital in Maharashtra, where 10 infants died in a tragic fire incident, helped rescue seven babies with his friends and fire brigade officials.
The fire broke out at the Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the hospital at around 2 am on Saturday.
Gaurav Rehpade, a security guard who was on duty when the fire started, said he called his two friends Rahul Gupta and Raj Kumar Dahekar, both ambulance drivers, for help.
Rehpade said he rushed towards the SNCU but was not able to get in as the room was filled with thick smoke.
"I and my friends took the help of the fire brigade and got inside the unit," Rehpade said.
Gupta said they made an effort but could not save more babies.
"We were able to help save seven babies. The situation was terrible. We were unable to enter into more units or we would have saved more babies," he said.
Dr Pramod Khandate, Civil surgeon, Bhandara said there were 17 babies in the SNCU when the fire broke out.
"Ten babies died due to the fire, while seven were rescued," he said.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and several other leaders conveyed their condolences to the affected families over the tragedy.