Tragedy in Pakistan: the pediatric ward of a state hospital in Islamabad was destroyed by flames and the final toll was 15 newborns dead. It is assumed that the fire broke out due to a malfunction of the air conditioning system. The SOS was triggered just before 7 in the morning local time (4 in Italy).
This is PIMS, the largest hospital in Pakistan’s federal capital and the video tells the entire story.
There seems no proper emergency access to the Children’s ward.
Firefighters too are using manual ladder to reach the third floor and break windowpanes to get inside.
No… pic.twitter.com/CH9OnP5nWH
— Sajjad Tarakzai (@SajjadTarakzai) August 26, 2026
Fire in the hospital – The images
The fire broke out inside the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad. The toll worsened as the hours passed, according to the managers of the facility only one of the newborns cared for was rescued. THE Rescuers managed to get ten women and two men outside before it was too late.
An investigation will clarify the causes of the fire, according to initial hypotheses it started from a fault in the air conditioning system. An air conditioner compressor exploded, starting the fire.
At least 15 infants were killed after a fire broke out today morning in the maternity ward of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), a state-run hospital in Islamabad.
The fire erupted on the third floor of the Mother and Child Health Ward at the public hospital.… pic.twitter.com/T48gcAmg72
— Vani Mehrotra (@vani_mehrotra) August 26, 2026
Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences is Islamabad’s leading hospital and healthcare research center. It was inaugurated in 1985 and is a reference point for patients from all over the country.
Tragic 💔
Islamabad’s PIMS Hospital Children’s Ward catches fire, 14 newborn babies killed pic.twitter.com/cs722ReocP
— Aamir Saeed Abbasi (@AmirSaeedAbbasi) August 26, 2026