Though claims have been made that they were injured in an air conditioner blast, police say they have no information confirming it

Staff Reporter

At least six newborn babies have reportedly died at Ad-din Medical College Hospital in Dhaka’s Moghbazar.

A hospital official says the children died between Tuesday night and early on Wednesday morning. The causes of death are not yet clear.

Senior police officials rushed to the hospital on Wednesday morning when informed about the deaths.

Ramna Divisional Police Deputy Commissioner Sheikh Zahidul Islam said, “We came after receiving reports of the unnatural deaths of six children in the post-operative room. These children were one to two days old.”

A television report has claimed that the six newborns died to a “gas leak” in the neonatal ward. Social media posts allege there was an air conditioner explosion in the building.

But Deputy Commissioner Zahidul said the initial investigation did not find any evidence of an air conditioner explosion.

Eleven mothers and six children were at the post-operative room at the hospital overnight, said Mazharul Islam, assistant commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Ramna Zone.

“What we have learnt after speaking to the hospital is that several mothers reported discomfort around 2am. They seemed to be having breathing difficulties. Around 4am, the air conditioner shut off for some reason. Then, around 6am, a child died. The other infants died one by one.”

A Criminal Investigation Department (CID) team is investigating the causes of their deaths, he said.