Five new born babies were burnt alive and two others were seriously injured at a private hospital in the wee hours here on Saturday when the incubators they were kept in caught fire due to a suspected short circuit.

A total of 10 children undergoing treatment for jaundice at the private hospital were kept in phototherapy units when the wires of the machine caught fire, charring five of them to death including three boys and two girls. Phototherapy (light treatment) is used for the treatment of jaundice.