Bakery found inside Ad-Din Hospital, Health Minister says

Health Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain has said that authorities discovered a bakery operating inside Ad-Din Hospital in the capital's Moghbazar area during an inspection carried out on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters after visiting the hospital, the minister said a bread-making facility was found on the premises.

“A bakery has been found. It was operating with two electric ovens. There was no engineer overseeing it, which should not have happened. We also found a large amount of dirt and poor sanitation conditions,” he said, adding that the matter would be dealt with seriously.

The minister noted that the bakery had reportedly been producing food for thousands of students. Investigators are now examining whether any gas emissions from the facility could have been linked to recent incidents at the hospital.

“We have spoken to two doctors, and they have also provided several indications regarding the matter,” he said.

Sakhawat further announced that three additional members have been added to the investigation committee. The committee is expected to submit its full report on June 3.

The inspection comes in the wake of the deaths of six newborns at the hospital earlier this week. The bodies of the infants were handed over to their families after relatives requested that no autopsies be conducted on Wednesday night.

A case of unnatural death has since been filed with Ramna Police Station by the family of one of the deceased newborns.

According to hospital sources, 11 mothers and six newborns were admitted to a post-operative ward at the time of the incident. Late on Tuesday night, one mother reportedly complained of feeling cold and asked a nurse to switch off the air conditioning. The AC remained off for about an hour.

After other patients complained of heat, the air conditioning was turned back on. Shortly afterward, two newborns reportedly fell ill and were transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The remaining infants also became sick one by one, and by the following morning, all six newborns had died.

Authorities are continuing their investigation into the cause of the deaths. No official conclusion has yet been reached.