A fire at the neonatal unit of an Indian hospital killed 10 newborns, authorities said on Saturday, with another 16 clinging to life after a blaze blamed on a faulty oxygen machine.

Building fires are common in India due to shoddy construction and a routine disregard for safety regulations.

The fire broke out at about 10:30pm (5pm GMT) on Friday night at the Maharani Lakshmibai Medical College in Jhansi, around 450 kilometres south of the capital New Delhi.

Footage from the scene showed charred beds and walls inside the ward as a crowd of anguished families waited outside.

“My child has gone forever,” one mother wailed as she clutched her head in grief.

Babies rescued from the fire, all only days old, were laid side by side on a bed elsewhere in the hospital as hospital staff hooked up their arms to intravenous drips.

“Ten infants have sadly died,” Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak told reporters.

“Seven bodies have been identified. Three bodies haven’t been identified as yet.”

Another 16 infants who were rescued were undergoing medical treatment, police superintendent Gyanendra Kumar Singh said.

He also said the fire likely started in a piece of machinery used to enrich the level of oxygen in the atmosphere.

“All children rescued are safe and getting medical attention,” Singh told AFP. “The fire was most likely due to a fire in an oxygen concentrator.”

‘War footing’

Pathak said a safety audit of the hospital was carried out in February followed by a fire drill three months later.

“The cause of the fire will be probed,” he added. “If any lapses are found, strict action will be taken against those responsible and no one will be spared.”

Broadcaster NDTV reported that 54 infants were in the neonatal intensive care unit when the fire broke out.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the deaths “heart-wrenching” in a post on social media platform X.

“My deepest condolences to those who have lost their innocent children in this. I pray to God to give them the strength to bear this immense loss,” he wrote.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced a compensation of 500,000 Indian rupees ($5,900) each to the bereaved families.

“The district administration and concerned officials have been instructed to carry out relief and rescue operations on a war footing,” Adityanath wrote on X.

“I pray to Lord Shri Ram to provide salvation to the departed souls and speedy recovery to the injured.” Friday’s fire comes six months after a similar blaze at a children’s hospital in New Delhi that killed six newborns.

Authorities said that the hospital was not properly licensed and lacked proper fire exits, and police arrested a doctor and the facility’s owner in the aftermath.

Earlier in May, a blaze occurred at a hospital just hours after at least 27 people were killed, including several children, when a fire broke out at a packed amusement park arcade in another part of the country.