Ten babies were killed in a maternity unit in Maharashtra in India early on Saturday when fire ravaged a hospital.

Hospital staff members saved seven of the newborn infants at the Bhandara district hospital. However, they were forced back before they could get to the 10 other infants.

10 Babies Killed

Doctors stated the flame broke out at the major hospital in India's wealthiest state at 2 A.M. on Saturday.

According to Pramod Khandate, a civil surgeon at the Bandara District General Hospital, 17 babies were in the sick newborn care unit when the fire started.

The newborns were between one to three months of age. Three to four of them were seared. The victims included eight girls and two boys.

The seven premature infants rescued were all girls.

According to Khandate, "The hospital nurse first noticed smoke coming out of the neonatal section and informed the hospital authorities. Fire brigade was also called to the hospital immediately which rescued seven babies who have been shifted to another ward," reported Hindustan Times.

The two nurses who were on evening duty, Shubhangi Sathavne and Smita Ambilduke, remarked they heard blast-like sounds in the neonatal ward. "When we rushed inside, smoke filled our noses and eyes. We could not see anything, but heard glass shattering. We raised the alarm and with the help of security guards and fire brigade staff rescued seven of the children."

Khandate further stated the origin of the fire is not known yet but their hospital staff extinguished the fire as soon as they could. The smoke suffocated the babies.

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The fire brigade halted the blaze from spreading to other parts of the hospital and other patients were transferred to safety.

Leading politicians expressed sorrow over the loss of lives. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described it as a "heart-wrenching tragedy."

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thakre ordered an investigation into the fire incident.

According to State Health Minister Rajesh Tope, initial evidence suggested the blaze could have been caused by a short circuit.

PM Modi wrote on Twitter that India lost precious young lives in the heart-wrenching tragedy in Bhandara, Maharashtra. He said his thoughts are with the the grieving families and hopes for the early recovery of the injured babies.

Thackeray's office said in a statement that the Chief Minister has ordered an investigation into the entire incident and spoke to the police superintendent and district collector to investigate the fire, reported NDTV.

Authorities ordered an urgent inquiry into the latest incident to raise doubts regarding safety in Indian hospitals. Over 90 fatalities were recorded in a 2011 inferno in a Kolkata hospital.

In August, a fire at a Ahmedabad hospital killed eight COVID-19 patients. Another five novel coronavirus patients died in a blaze in a Rajkot clinic in November.

The continuous explosion in the ward made rescue operations tumultuous.

A fire brigade rushed to the scene in order to alleviate the spread of fire elsewhere in the building.

All the babies have not yet been named as they had been confined in special care since birth.

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