At least 14 babies died in a fire on Wednesday at a state-run hospital in Islamabad, the prime minister said, with local media blaming the tragedy on faulty air conditioning.
The fire broke out in the maternity ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences hospital at around 7am local time, local broadcaster Geo TV reported. Geo TV put the death toll at 15 and said one infant was rescued.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an immediate investigation, his office said.
The incident is one of Pakistan's deadliest hospital fires in recent years. Government health care is subsidised but facilities are under-resourced and overburdened. Watchdogs have frequently criticised state-run facilities for being mismanaged.
“Those responsible should be identified, and the strictest action should be taken,” Mr Sharif's office said in a statement.
The ward was cordoned off and ambulances were seen outside the hospital building, according to a Reuters witness.
"Give me my child," Javeria, who lost her newborn, said outside the hospital, where ambulances had gathered. "I want justice." Mudasir, another parent who lost his child, said all doors of the ward, except one, were shut and that there was "no fire security" in the ward.
Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan was briefly treated at the hospital last week.
There was no immediate comment from the hospital or authorities on the incident. It is one of the main public hospitals in the city of around 1.1 million people.
