Baby dies after ICU ceiling collapse at Istanbul hospital

ISTANBUL

The collapse of the ceiling of a neonatal intensive care unit at an Istanbul hospital has led to the tragic death of a premature baby, who despite being moved to another unit could not survive.

The collapse occurred at the Bakırköy Professor Dr. Murat Dilmener Emergency Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit yesterday due to a leak in the hot water piping that runs through the ceiling.

In a statement to the media, the hospital's chief physician, Emin Köse, revealed that eight babies were in the intensive care unit at the time of the incident.

The infants, along with their incubators, were relocated to a safe area under the supervision of medical personnel and with the assistance of fire brigade teams.

However, the hospital later announced that one of the three premature babies, weighing approximately 800 grams, died half an hour after the incident.

The emergency hospital was opened on May 31, 2020, at Atatürk Airport, which was closed to flights.

After the first COVID-19 case was announced in Türkiye in March 2020, the construction of two large hospitals in Istanbul came to the agenda.

The hospital was named after Dr. Dilmener, who had succumbed to COVID-19.