At least 14 newborn babies have died after a fire broke out at a hospital in Pakistan.

The fire occurred at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital in the country’s capital, Islamabad, at around 6:45 a.m. local time on Wednesday, Aug. 26, local outlet Geo News reported. It began in the labor and delivery department’s air conditioning unit, per the BBC.

According to local newspaper Dawn, first responders rushed to the scene with six fire engines and four ambulances seen outside the hospital.

Fourteen of the 15 newborns who were in the department at the time died in the blaze, according to the BBC, which cited the hospital’s spokesperson. Speaking to Dawn, a hospital spokesperson said the surviving newborn had been saved by a doctor.

Police officers at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad on Aug. 26, 2026.Aamir QURESHI / AFP via Getty
Some outlets in Pakistan, including the Daily Jang, have given the death toll as 15 and claimed there were 16 babies in the ward, but this has not been confirmed.

Police said the newborns had been badly burnt and would need to be identified through DNA testing before their bodies can be returned to their parents, the BBC reported.

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The hospital spokesperson told Dawn that six of the newborns had been handed over to their parents, with the other bodies set to be given to their parents soon.

At least 19 people — 10 women, seven children and two men — were rescued, per the BBC. The fire was brought under control and those injured were taken to the intensive care unit, the outlet reported.

Relatives outside the Pakistan Institute of Medical Science in Islamabad on Aug. 26, 2026.SOHAIL SHAHZAD/EPA/Shutterstock
It’s believed the fire had broken out in the air conditioning unit after being ignited by oxygen connections, according to the BBC. The infants in the ward were either hooked on oxygen equipment or in incubators at the time, Health Minister Mustafa Kamal told Geo News, per the broadcaster.

One parent said, according to Reuters, that all of the doors in the ward apart from one were shut and added that there was “no fire security.”

“Give me my child,” another parent said, per the news agency. “I want justice.”

The families of patients at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad on Aug. 26, 2026.Aamir QURESHI / AFP via Getty
Amid speculation that the door to the ward had been locked, the hospital’s executive director, Rana Imran Sikander, told the BBC that was not the case, but said it was manned, something he claimed was to protect babies from being stolen.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed “deep sorrow and heartfelt condolences” in a statement, translated from Urdu, while the leader has also instructed authorities to conduct an “immediate investigation.”

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President Asif Ali Zardari has also expressed “deep sorrow and condolences” over the “heartbreaking and irreparable loss,” and said legal action should be taken against the individuals responsible for the fire once identified.

“Effective fire safety and emergency arrangements should be ensured in hospitals, especially for the protection of newborn children,” he said in a statement, translated from Urdu.

Islamabad’s District Magistrate has formed a committee to investigate the fire, with a report due within 24 hours, the BBC reported. It’s been tasked with determining the “exact cause” of the blaze, as well as “whether adequate and functional fire-safety measures were in place,” the outlet stated, citing the Pakistan government.

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The blaze is one of the deadliest hospital fires in Pakistan in recent years, and comes a little over two years after 11 infants died in a fire at the Sahiwal Teaching Hospital in the city of Sahiwal, about 260 miles south of Islamabad, Dawn reported.

The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment.