Five newborn babies died Saturday in a suspected fire in their incubator at a government-run hospital in the north Indian state of Punjab, police said.
"Apparently it was a fire from a short circuit in their incubator," said R.K. Sharma, police superintendent of Punjab's Patiala city.
Sukhbir Singh Badal, the state's deputy chief minister, told CNN an inquiry has been ordered into the incident at Patiala's Rajindra hospital.
Five other babies survived the fire and are undergoing treatment, according to the police.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed sadness over the deaths and offered about $2,000 for each bereaved family, his office said in a statement.
