President Asif Ali Zardari has approved the conferment of the Tamgha-i-Shujaat on the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) nurse who rescued a newborn during the deadly fire that killed 14 infants at the hospital’s nursery.
The Presidency announced the decision on Wednesday, saying Razia Noreen had saved the baby during the August 26 blaze at the nursery of PIMS’ Mother and Child Hospital.
Earlier, CCTV footage showed Razia entering the nursery as flames spread, emerging seconds later with a newborn in her arms.
She attempted to re-enter the nursery shortly afterwards, but the fire had intensified, an inquiry report said.
Previously, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif also presented Razia with a Rs10 million cheque in recognition of what he described as her extraordinary bravery and sense of duty.
Noreen said she had simply been performing her responsibility, adding that the children had been entrusted to her and the responsibility rested on her shoulders at the time.
Meanwhile, a committee investigating the fire said that the blaze was most likely caused by a localised electrical failure.
It also criticised hospital management for what it described as systemic and institutional failures that contributed to the scale of the disaster.
The inquiry report said CCTV footage showed the emergency had developed exceptionally rapidly.
It added that the evidence rejected any generalised allegation that frontline personnel had abandoned the newborns.
The August 26 fire killed 14 newborns and raised concerns over fire safety arrangements at the facility. Criminal action was also ordered against eight officials following the incident.
