PIMS Tragedy: Inquiry Finds Administrative Failures Contributed to Deaths of 14 Newborns

An inquiry report into the PIMS nursery fire has attributed the incident to an electrical fault and identified multiple failures by the PIMS administration.

An inquiry report into the PIMS nursery fire has been released by the inquiry committee with the permission of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The report attributed the incident to an electrical fault and identified multiple failures by the PIMS administration.

According to the report, the fire was most likely caused by an electrical supply cable connected to AC No. 2. The inquiry found no evidence of sabotage or an IESCO fault, while there was also no evidence that the fire originated from an oxygen leak or an incubator.

The report said frontline staff responded promptly in the initial moments after the fire and found that no individual could be held criminally responsible for the incident. However, the inquiry identified serious shortcomings in the nursery’s smoke detection and alarm systems. It noted that a fire at the nursing hostel on July 6 had also exposed safety deficiencies, but previous fire-safety warnings had not been properly addressed.

At the time of the incident, 15 newborns were being treated in the nursery, which had a capacity of only 10 beds. Fourteen babies died in the fire. The inquiry concluded that the deaths were not caused by a single failure of the newborn safety system, but by multiple inadequate safety measures and administrative shortcomings.