Jhansi hospital fire: Swapped children are reunited with families after two days of panic

Doctors and parents said confusion was caused because it was very difficult to identify infants without their tags, with details such as their parents’ names, measurements, and weight

Kripa Ram Yadav must have been a very happy man on November 7, 2024, when his wife gave birth to their son at Jhansi’s Maharani Laxmibai Medical College (MLBC). The baby, born after over five hours of labour, was admitted to the neonatal ICU (NICU) of the medical college due to minor seizures. 

A resident of Bamer village in Jhansi district, Mr. Yadav’s happiness, however, was only a week-long as his wife, Shanti Yadav, who was dealing with a mental illness, went missing from the hospital on November 14, 2024. Already troubled by this, the fire at the NICU the next day gave him another jolt as his son went missing in the chaos.

The fire, suspected to have started after a short circuit in an extension board, claimed the lives of 10 infants admitted in the NICU, while 39 others were rescued by relatives of the children, and hospital staff. 

In a short span of time, the fire and smoke had blocked the main entrance to the NICU, leaving only two windows to rescue children, many eyewitnesses said, adding that the unit was in three sections and it had become difficult to save those in the inner two sections. 

“It was a stampede-like situation there. Nobody was able to enter through the door. So, some people just broke the two windows to enter the room. They and the staff already inside just started handing over children to people standing outside. Nobody cared who was carrying whose child. Everyone just wanted to take them to safety,” Mr. Yadav, who was among those left empty-handed after the rescue efforts were over, said. 

Also Read: NHRC notice to U.P. government, DGP over death of newborns

With his world turning upside down in just eight days, Mr. Yadav, for the next two days, ran around every ward of the MLBC, and several private hospitals and nursing homes, where rescued children had been moved, requesting many officials to help find his baby and his wife.

“My wife had gone to use the washroom when I was sleeping outside the NICU. When she did not come back for a while, I started looking for her, but could not find her in the hospital,” he said, adding that he had approached the hospital staff and police after that. 

Also Read: U.P. government orders multi-level probe into Jhansi hospital fire that killed 10 babies

Doctors and other parents say that the confusion was caused because it was very difficult to identify infants without their tags, put up by the staff, with details such as their parents’ names, measurements, and weight.

While his wife still remains missing, it was only on Sunday evening that Mr. Yadav was reunited with his child, who had been rescued by another woman and taken to a private hospital. 

Mahendra Singh and Lakshmi Singh’s son was also rescued from the tragedy and moved to the paediatric ICU (PICU) of MLBC. 

During the rescue efforts, Ms. Lakshmi said, she had been handed two male children. 

“One boy had a tag of his parents’ names and other details so I gave him to a nurse, while I thought that the other one was mine. My husband and I took him and admitted him to a private hospital,” she said, after being reunited with her own child. 

Hospital staff and local officials reached out to her after nobody came to enquire about their child being treated at the PICU.

Accompanied by officials, when Mr. Yadav reached the Mithila Mahesh Child Care Hospital, his sister Sheel Kumari recognised his child. 

“I had always accompanied Shanti whenever she went to breastfeed the boy. After she went missing, I fed him milk with bottle so I remembered his face,” Ms. Kumari said.

“We took him because we believed he was our son,” Mr. Mahendra, who has now barely left his own son’s side, said. 

“We took care of him like our own son. We even spent close to ₹10,000 at the private hospital but have no regrets of that. We are just happy that both families got their children,” he said, adding that he already has a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, and that his family is now complete. 

Circle Officer, City, Jhansi Police, Ramvir Singh, who helped find Mr. Yadav’s child, told The Hindu that efforts were on to trace Mr. Yadav’s wife. “We have filed a missing person report and are checking CCTV camera footage from railway stations, bus stands and other places in the city,” he said.

Published - November 18, 2024 12:45 am IST