HYDERABAD: Two infants died and two other babies are in critical condition after a fire broke out in the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the state-run RIMS in Adilabad district, officials said on Tuesday.

The fire occurred on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday after the AC unit burst, they said.

Of the 27 infants undergoing treatment in the unit, one pre-term baby died initially and another died in a private hospital in the early hours of Tuesday, while 25 babies were shifted to different private hospitals.

Two of the babies are in critical condition and the health condition of all the children is being monitored continuously, they said.

The exact details of the incident, including cause of fire, would be known after an enquiry, they said.

It is suspected that the air-conditioner exploded due to malfunctioning, a senior police official said based on preliminary investigation.

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who expressed grief over the incident at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), directed officials to provide advanced medical care to those undergoing treatment.

He instructed officials to submit a report after conducting an enquiry into the incident and to take measures to prevent such tragedies in future.