Another infant presenting with measles symptoms has died at Shahid Shamsuddin Ahmed Hospital in Sylhet.

The 8-month old, known only as Ayan, was the son of Morshed Alam and Khorsheda Begum from Banglabazar in Sunamganj's Dowrabazar Upazila, bdnews24.com reports. 

He passed away around noon on Saturday.

His parents alleged that timely admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) could have saved his life, though hospital authorities rejected the claim.

Alam said they admitted the child to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital on Friday evening before bringing him to Shamsuddin Ahmed Hospital after failing to secure an ICU bed there, hoping to find one at the facility.

He recalled that hospital staff asked them to arrange oxygen upon arrival, adding that despite needing an ICU bed, none was available, leaving Ayan waiting for nearly two hours before he died.

Questioning how an ICU bed opened up immediately after his son's death, Alam said the child was moved to the ICU only after passing away.

A heartbreaking scene unfolded on the hospital premises afterwards, with people gathering around the grieving parents.

His mother Khorsheda was heard crying and saying, “Oh Allah, where is my baby? Oh Allah. I cannot live without my child. They have left my heart empty. I want justice.”

"They [the doctors] didn't see my child, didn't come to treat him."

Mizanur Rahman, resident medical officer at the hospital, said the child arrived without written referral from Osmani Hospital, already “critical”.

“No ICU bed was free at the time, so he was kept under observation in the emergency department and given oxygen and treatment.”

The child was later moved to the ICU once another patient was shifted out, and died about half an hour afterwards, he said.

"No hospital ever has a free ICU bed on hand. In this case, the family brought the child here before Osmani Hospital contacted us.

"It's a parent's heart, they thought bringing him here directly might get them an ICU bed. They're raising this complaint without understanding the full picture,” Mizanur added.