Grief as 14 Children Die in Fire at Pakistan Hospital

A fire broke out in a maternity ward in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, killing 14 children.

AFP reported on Wednesday (26/8/2026) that the Islamabad district office said in a statement that the fire occurred on the third floor of the Mother and Child Health Ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), a public hospital.

“A total of 14 children died in the incident,” it said, without specifying their ages.

The statement did not mention the cause of the fire on Wednesday (26/8).

Sohail Ashraf, Islamabad’s chief commissioner, wrote on social media platform X that rescue teams, specialists, police, and he himself “immediately arrived at the scene and brought the fire under control”.

He said the emergency call was made just before 7.00 am (02.00 GMT).

Fires in large buildings are common in Pakistan, often due to poor safety regulations and building codes as well as weak law enforcement.

Earlier in January, more than 65 people died in a fire at a shopping centre in the port city of Karachi.

At least 11 people also died in a fire at another shopping centre in Karachi in 2023.

In 2021, at least 16 workers died after a factory fire in the same city.

In 2012, at least 250 labourers died at a garment factory in Baldia Town, west of Karachi, when a fire swept through the facility. The building had no emergency stairs.