2 newborns have narrow escape as Amritsar hospital ceiling collapses
EYEWITNESSES ALLEGE PART OF COLLAPSED CEILING HIT A BABY WHO DIED TWO HOURS LATER, BUT DOCTORS DENIED THAT DEATH WAS DUE TO THE INCIDENT
AMRITSAR: Two newborn babies had a narrow escape when a portion of the false ceiling collapsed at the paediatric ward of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH) on Thursday.
The incident which took place at the phototherapy unit-3 of the ward in the afternoon created panic among the parents of the newborn babies at the hospital.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses alleged a part of collapsed ceiling hit a newborn baby who died two hours after the incident, but the doctors denied that the child died due to any injury.
More than 10 newborn babies were kept in the phototherapy machines when the ceiling collapsed. Two babies, who were kept in one of the machines placed underneath the ceiling, survived due to the thick plastic coating on the machine. The doctors and parents, who were present in the room, immediately rescued the babies.
The sources said a portion of collapsed ceiling had hit a twoday-old boy in his stomach. However, the doctors immediately shifted him to another room in the hospital. The newborn, whose mother was admitted in another room of the hospital after the delivery, died two hours after the incident. The parents of the rescued childern, who did not wish to be named, alleged that the collapsed ceiling had hit the newborn boy who died later.
Dr Ashwani Sareen, in-charge of the paediatric ward, said, “The ceiling of the building was very old and the portion of it collapsed. The two-day old newborn baby was shifted to the phototherapy unit-3 on Wednesday as he was very weak. He died due to weakness. There is no link between the ceiling collapse and his death. No baby was injured in the incident.”