Govt announces Rs5m compensation for families of Pims fire victims

The federal government has announced Rs5 million in compensation for the family of each of the 14 infants who died in the fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad.

In a statement, the government expressed solidarity with the bereaved families and said it would provide them with all possible support and assistance.

It acknowledged that no financial compensation could make up for the loss of a life, but said the payment was intended to help ease the families’ difficulties following the tragedy.

The announcement came a day after a fire broke out at around 6:45am in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) on the third floor of Pims’ Mother and Child Health ward, killing 14 newborns.

There were 15 infants in the nursery at the time, while one baby was rescued.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Rescue officials said an air-conditioner compressor exploded inside the nursery. However, an initial report by the Pims administration stated that a device used to measure oxygen levels alongside an incubator had exploded.

The report said oxygen then caught fire and smoke travelled through pipes into the infants’ breathing systems. It attributed the deaths to the loss of oxygen supply and burns.