Fourteen infants have died after a fire broke out at a maternity ward in a major public hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan, authorities said on Wednesday.

The blaze started in the early hours on the third floor of the Mother and Child Health Ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), one of the country’s leading public medical facilities.

Islamabad authorities said emergency responders brought the fire under control after receiving a distress call shortly before 7am local time. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed that all 14 victims were infants.

The fire reportedly originated from an electrical fault involving an air-conditioning unit, according to a spokesperson for PIMS.

The incident triggered panic among patients, relatives and hospital staff, with witnesses describing heavy black smoke, broken windows and desperate attempts to evacuate people from the affected ward.

Khurram Mehmood, a father who said his three-day-old daughter died in the fire, alleged that rescuers took a long time to reach the affected area.

Another witness, Jaweria, who also lost her infant, said the door to the neonatal intensive care unit was locked during the incident and questioned why the babies had not been evacuated.

Witness Abdul Ghafoor said the fire spread rapidly and that some babies in the ward were only a day old. He also claimed that thick smoke prevented people from reaching the maternity section.

However, Islamabad Chief Commissioner Sohail Ashraf said rescue and police teams responded immediately after the emergency call was received and succeeded in containing the blaze.

Some witnesses also alleged that hospital security personnel initially prevented people from leaving the building, forcing patients and relatives to break through doors and windows to escape.

Families gathered outside the hospital as the evacuation continued, with several people covered in soot and visibly distressed. Nurses were later heard calling out the names of infants who had died.

One mother, Shagufta Parveen, said she escaped with her 10-day-old baby after the fire filled the facility with smoke.

Prime Minister Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi expressed grief over the deaths and called for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Sharif directed authorities to determine those responsible and ensure that appropriate action was taken.

The tragedy has renewed concerns over fire safety in Pakistan, where deadly building fires have frequently been linked to inadequate safety standards, poor enforcement and faulty infrastructure.

Several major fires have occurred in the country in recent years, including deadly incidents in commercial and industrial facilities in Karachi.