KARACHI: Fourteen infants were killed Wednesday when a fire swept through the gynecology ward of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, marking the deadliest hospital blaze in the country since 2024 and the latest in a string of similar tragedies recorded over the past 16 years.
The fire broke out in the early morning hours at the state-run hospital in the capital, one of Pakistan’s largest public health facilities. Authorities have not yet determined the cause, but fires in large buildings are frequent across the country, often due to poor safety laws, substandard building codes and lax enforcement, according to safety experts.
The Pims incident ranks among the most lethal hospital fires in Pakistan’s recent history. Government healthcare is subsidized but facilities are chronically under-resourced and overburdened, with outdated electrical systems and insufficient fire safety equipment cited in past investigations.
The disaster drew immediate outrage on social media, with celebrities and public figures demanding accountability.
“15 children and several before,” actor Muhammad Ahmed said in a video message, referencing the infants killed Wednesday and previous tragedies. “We hear news about children regularly. We will forget these 15 also, as like earlier.”
Ahmed questioned why perpetrators had not been held accountable and expressed grief for the mothers who lost their children.
The Pims fire is the latest in a series of hospital fires documented since 2010:
- On June 30, 2026, a fire broke out in an intensive care unit at Karachi’s National Institute of Child Health, causing extensive damage but no injuries.
- On Nov. 9, 2025, a fire caused extensive damage to the emergency and dialysis section of the Syed Abdullah Shah Institute of Medical Sciences in Sehwan. No casualties occurred as the section was closed.
- On Oct. 18, 2025, a fire broke out in the basement of Ziauddin Hospital in Karachi’s Clifton. Officials said a timely response prevented major losses.
- On June 8, 2024, 11 infants died in the pediatric medicine ward of Sahiwal Teaching Hospital due to a short circuit in the air conditioning system.
- On Feb. 11, 2024, four hospital employees, including two paramedics, died after a fire erupted at the emergency department of Karachi’s Sindh Government Hospital Liaquatabad. Three others sustained serious burns.
- On Jan. 14, 2024, a fire erupted in Peshawar’s private Shireen Shah Hospital. No casualties were reported.
- On May 27, 2023, a newborn died and another suffered burns after a fire erupted in the pediatric nursery of Lahore’s Children’s Hospital.
- On Sept. 23, 2022, a fire broke out on the second floor of the children’s ward of Narowal District Headquarters Hospital, triggering the evacuation of 40 children and five women.
- On Sept. 5, 2022, medical equipment and goods were destroyed after a fire erupted in an operating theater at Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital. No injuries were reported.
- On June 9, 2022, Lahore’s Services Hospital closed its Diabetic Management Centre after a fire gutted furniture, office records and other valuables.
- On June 4, 2022, a massive fire erupted on the third floor of the outpatient department at Children Hospital in Lahore, destroying medicines worth millions.
- On Jan. 17, 2022, a welder died and an employee sustained serious wounds when a fire broke out at a private hospital on Karachi’s M.A. Jinnah Road.
- On Aug. 6, 2021, a fire broke out at a children’s hospital in Larkana. No casualties were reported, but the fire suspended the hospital’s power supply for about six hours.
- On May 23, 2021, 15 children were affected at Sialkot’s Government Sardar Begum Memorial Teaching Hospital when a room in the COVID-19 vaccination center caught fire.
- On March 7, 2021, a fire erupted in the pediatrics ward of Lahore’s Mayo Hospital, forcing staff to shift patients to other wards. No injuries were reported.
- On June 13, 2020, a woman died and eight others, including doctors, paramedics and patients, suffered minor injuries when a fire erupted in the operation theater of the emergency ward at Services Hospital in Lahore.
- On May 10, 2020, a fire broke out in the basement of the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology. Patients were shifted after thick smoke spread through the building.
- On Feb. 7, 2020, a fire in the physiotherapy department of Rawalpindi’s District Headquarters Hospital reduced furniture to ashes and damaged machines.
- On Jan. 9, 2020, a newborn girl died when an incubator caught fire at Karachi’s National Institute of Child Health, the largest children’s hospital in Sindh.
- On Oct. 15, 2019, a fire broke out in the musafirkhana, or guest house, of Lahore’s Mayo Hospital, creating a stampede-like situation. No casualties were reported.
- On June 6, 2018, a large fire destroyed five residential quarters for doctors at Mansehra’s Garhi Habibullah Civil Hospital. No casualties were reported.
- On Aug. 3, 2017, hundreds of patients, attendants, doctors and paramedics were evacuated from Sialkot’s Allama Iqbal Memorial Teaching Hospital after a massive fire broke out in the facility’s luggage store.
- On July 17, 2016, 20 patients suffered serious burns when a fire broke out at a private hospital in Dadu after a gas cylinder exploded.
- On Feb. 10, 2014, a fire broke out in the basement of Multan’s Nishtar Hospital emergency ward. Smoke affected six patients, and emergency services remained suspended for 2½ hours.
- On July 13, 2013, a fire erupted in the pediatrics ward of Faisalabad’s Allied Hospital, affecting two minors.
- On June 20, 2013, a fire broke out in the Angiography Laboratory of the Punjab Institute of Cardiology in Lahore, burning instruments worth thousands.
- On June 7, 2012, at least four newborns died and 17 received burn injuries when a fire erupted in Lahore’s Services Hospital.
- On Feb. 20, 2012, two surgical units, costly equipment and furniture were destroyed when a fire broke out in the dental ward of Dadu’s Civil Hospital.
- On Nov. 19, 2010, at least six patients became unconscious and several others, including attendants and hospital staff, suffered minor respiratory problems after smoke engulfed the Intensive Care Unit of Lahore’s Mayo Hospital’s emergency block following a short circuit.
- On Oct. 5, 2010, a 2-year-old boy and a man sustained burn injuries, and equipment worth over 30 million rupees was damaged when a fire broke out in three operation theaters of Lahore’s Services Hospital.
Authorities have not announced any arrests or formal investigations into Wednesday’s fire. The infants’ identities have not been released, and officials have not said whether the ward was equipped with functioning fire suppression systems.
The Pims fire adds to a grim record of hospital safety failures in Pakistan, where repeated tragedies have prompted calls for reform but yielded little tangible change, according to activists and health officials.
