New Delhi (NVI): At least nine people have been killed after an oxygen machine caused a fire in a private hospital in Turkey’s southeastern Gaziantep province.
The incident took place in the COVID-19 intensive care unit in the Sanko University Hospital where a fire was caused by a high-flow oxygen therapy machine used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, according to media reports.
All the victims were aged between 56 and 85.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted that nine people were killed in the fire, raising the earlier estimate of eight dead by the hospital and the Gaziantep governor’s office. There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.
Furthermore, over 50 people, including doctors, medical personnel and security guards, were affected by the fire while trying to transfer patients from the scene during the incident, and 10 staffers are in oxygen therapy.
After the explosion, 11 other patients receiving COVID-19 treatment in the unit were referred to various hospitals.
An investigation has been launched regarding the incident.
Intensive care units across Turkey currently have a 74 per cent bed occupancy rate due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to government figures.
On Friday evening, Turkey’s health ministry reported 26,410 new cases over the previous 24 hours, bringing the total since March to 1.98 million.
-CHK
