Newborns die in hospital blaze

Five newborn children have been killed after a fire broke out in the maternity wing of a hospital in northern India.

Police officer Pritpal Singh said the blaze began before dawn today at the state-run Rajendra hospital in the city of Patiala.

Five other newborns were rescued, including one that suffered burns. All the babies were less than a week old and receiving treatment for jaundice.

The fire was apparently caused by a problem in the phototherapy machine used to treat them.