Islamabad hospital fire kills up to 15 infants after air conditioning compressor explodes

Fire at the maternal health nursery

An early morning fire broke out on Wednesday, 26 August 2026, inside the Maternal and Child Health unit of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad. The blaze ignited on the third floor of the public hospital complex, which houses the facility's gynaecology and neonatal care nursery. First responders and hospital officials reported that the fire started after an air conditioning compressor exploded inside the neonatal section around 07:00 local time, rapidly filling the room with flames and thick smoke.

Between 15 and 16 newborn infants were inside the nursery when the air conditioning unit malfunctioned. Medical staff and emergency rescue workers managed to pull only one newborn out of the room alive. Casualty figures varied across official statements and local media reports, with the confirmed death toll ranging between 13 and 15 infants. Rescuers noted that surviving children suffered critical injuries from smoke inhalation and severe burns, leaving open the possibility of a higher death count.

Emergency response and containment

The emergency services received the initial distress call shortly before 07:00 local time, launching a rapid containment operation at the capital's central hospital. Authorities dispatched six fire engines and four ambulances to the medical complex to extinguish the flames and assist with the evacuation. Police officers, rescue teams, and industrial specialists cordoned off the third floor of the facility to prevent the blaze from spreading to adjacent treatment areas and gynaecology wards.

Islamabad Chief Commissioner Sohail Ashraf reported on social media that rescue teams, police units, and district administrators arrived at the hospital immediately after the call was logged. Emergency crews brought the fire under control and extinguished the flames within the nursery, while multiple ambulances remained stationed outside the building to provide backup care.

Official inquiry and healthcare conditions

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered authorities to carry out an immediate investigation into the equipment failure and institutional oversight at the state hospital. In an official statement expressing condolences to the grieving families, the prime minister addressed the severity of the loss.

A tragedy involving children is an irreparable loss.

Sharif directed investigators to identify any personnel or administrators responsible for negligence or maintenance failures.

Those responsible must be identified and the strictest action must be taken.

The Islamabad district administration also confirmed the incident in an official statement, noting that 14 children had lost their lives in the third-floor maternal health wing. PIMS serves as one of Islamabad's primary state-run hospitals and had briefly provided medical treatment to former prime minister Imran Khan the previous week. Pakistan's public healthcare system provides state-subsidized medical care, but public hospitals operate under heavy patient overcrowding and persistent resource deficits. Oversight bodies have repeatedly criticized the management of public medical facilities, where lax enforcement of building codes and safety regulations contributes to recurrent fires, such as a January shopping centre blaze in Karachi that killed between 60 and 67 people.