A fire at the maternity ward of PIMS hospital in Islamabad killed 14 infants on Wednesday morning. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.

The fire started in an air-conditioning unit on the third floor. Only one of the 15 babies present was saved.

Witness Hivsa Walid was near the room with her sister-in-law, who had given birth days earlier. They heard a shout and thought a patient had died, but then saw smoke. They grabbed the baby and rushed downstairs.

"We didn't even think about our belongings. We just grabbed the baby and rushed downstairs. Some patients had delivered their babies just that night. I don't even know how we managed to get down - it was all a blur," she said.

Khurram Mehmood, 40, told AFP news agency there was a long wait for rescue workers. "I lost my daughter. She was only three days old," he said.

Jaweria, the mother of another victim, told AFP the door to the maternity ward was locked. "For two hours I kept crying and wailing. Police arrived after four hours and said they are here to investigate. Why did the doctors leave the children there?" she asked.

Walid suggested PIMS's safety protocols were inadequate: "There should have been fire extinguishers and protocols, but no one was doing anything - everyone was just running."

The father of a baby who died told Reuters the building had "no fire security, no proper exits". Several eyewitnesses claimed duty staff were not around.

People had to "break the door down" and rescue teams were forced to smash windows to control the flames, a witness told AFP. Another witness, Abdul Ghafoor, told AFP he tried to get into the building but couldn't reach the maternity ward.

"There was thick black smoke inside and patients were trapped. Rescue teams arrived after almost two hours," he said.

Rana Imran Sikander, the hospital's executive director, told the BBC the ward's door was not locked but was manned, citing the need to protect babies from being stolen. Islamabad's Chief Commissioner Sohail Ashraf said rescue teams reached the scene "immediately" after the emergency call, according to AFP.

PIMS is one of the biggest hospitals in Pakistan's capital, with 156 beds in its maternal and child health unit. Pakistan has dealt with a number of major fires in recent years, with poor safety laws, building codes and lax enforcement often blamed.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his "deep sorrow and heartfelt regret" over the blaze and instructed authorities to "conduct an immediate investigation", according to a statement from his office. He also suspended Federal Health Secretary Aslam Ghauri. "Such a situation with children is irreparable", the statement said.