ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday suspended eight officials and ordered criminal proceedings against them after an inquiry into a hospital fire that killed 14 newborns found serious safety and emergency-response failures at Islamabad’s largest public-sector hospital.

The interim investigation found the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad had no detailed procedures or training for fires and other emergencies, while the neonatal ward had neither fire alarms nor sprinklers and was operating in violation of all relevant World Health Organization safety rules, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.

The findings also revealed that emergency services were not called until six minutes after the fire started and the first response arrived another 15 minutes later. The blaze engulfed the neonatal ward within just two minutes, according to CCTV footage shown at a meeting chaired by Sharif in Lahore.

“Those guilty of criminal negligence do not deserve any leniency,” Sharif was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his office after the meeting.

“Those responsible for this incident will be brought to justice.”

The eight officials ordered suspended include PIMS Executive Director Prof. Dr. Imran Sikandar, Joint Executive Directors Dr. Mutahir Shah and Dr. Owais Ali Shah, neonatal department head Prof. Dr. Sadia Riaz, Senior Registrar Dr. Nagham, Dr. Nausheela Amjad, PIMS Assistant Director Security Muhammad Usman and Capital Development Authority Emergency Services Director General Dr. Abdul Rehman.

Sharif directed authorities to initiate both departmental and criminal proceedings against those identified by the inquiry committee and ordered that criminal action be taken without discrimination, the PMO said.

He also approved action against the private company responsible for security at PIMS and its officials, while a nurse and a female security guard who were present in the ward were made officers on special duty pending further investigation.

“The death of innocent children is such a tragic incident that the entire nation is grieving,” Sharif said. “The whole nation, including myself, sympathizes with the parents of the children.”

The prime minister said those responsible would face “exemplary punishment” to ensure criminal negligence did not again result in a mother losing her child.

The interim report provides the most detailed official account yet of the failures surrounding Wednesday’s fire, which broke out in a third-floor nursery at PIMS. One baby was rescued from the nursery and four others from an adjacent room.

Of the hospital’s 13 standard operating procedures, only two subsections referred to fires or other emergency situations, according to the briefing.

Supervisory staff were not on duty when the fire broke out, with two nurses, a female security guard and a house officer present in the ward, the PMO said.

The investigation also found PIMS had no designated officer responsible for fire emergencies, with the responsibility assigned as an additional duty to an assistant director.

The failures came despite a fire at the PIMS nursing hostel just a month earlier, in July, after which investigators said no serious measures were taken to improve safety at the hospital.

Arab News reported earlier on Saturday, citing officials with knowledge of the inquiry, that the committee had recommended the removal of Sikandar and several other PIMS officials and had formally recognized the bravery of a nurse who rescued a child from the burning nursery.

The PMO subsequently confirmed Sharif had approved Sikandar’s suspension and the award of the Sitara-i-Khidmat to the nurse who saved the child without regard for her own safety.

Sharif directed Dr. Muhammad Salman, chief executive officer of the National Institutes of Health, to take over as acting executive director of PIMS and ordered immediate appointments to replace other officials removed from their posts.

He also directed authorities to make the interim inquiry report public on the National Health Ministry’s website and asked the committee, headed by former interior secretary Shahid Khan, to complete its investigation and submit a more detailed report.