A hospital in Pakistan has denied claims that a ward door was locked during a fire in which 14 babies died, after witnesses said access to the area had been blocked.
The fatal blaze has prompted conflicting accounts over conditions at the hospital at the time of the incident. Witnesses said the door to the ward was locked when the fire broke out, raising questions about access to the babies and the response during the emergency.
The hospital has rejected that version of events. It said the ward door was not locked and that security guards were stationed there to protect the babies.
The deaths of 14 infants make the incident a major hospital tragedy, with the dispute over the door forming a central point in the immediate aftermath. The available information does not provide further details about the precise location of the hospital, the cause of the fire, the timing of the blaze or whether any formal investigation has been announced.
The latest known position is that witnesses have alleged the ward door was locked, while the hospital maintains it was guarded but not locked for safety reasons.
