Eight patients killed in fire at northwestern Turkish hospital

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

The fire, which mainly affected a children's ward and the intensive care unit, broke out overnight in the radiology department located in the hospital’s basement.

"Rescue and extinguishing efforts were swiftly carried out. However, eight patients in the intensive care unit died from the effects of smoke inhalation while being transferred," Interior Minister Besir Atalay told reporters at the scene.

Forty-four people were evacuated from the Sevket Yilmaz state hospital in the Yildirim district and sent for treatment at 10 other hospitals, the officials said.

Authorities are trying to establish whether the fire was the result of a technical glitch or due to "negligence."

Two inspectors from the ministry and officials from the Public Prosecutor’s Office were conducting investigation into the cause of the fire, Health Minister Recep Akdag told reporters after visiting the hospital.

Bursa Gov. Sahabettin Harput said the blaze was believed to have broken out as a result of an electrical fault in the hospital's radiology department, a theory later supported by the head of the provincial fire department, Orhan Dogan.

The intensive care unit was worst affected by the blaze, which sent thick smoke through a ventilation shaft to the upper floors before it was extinguished.

The children’s ward was also badly affected by smoke, with 13 new-born babies among the patients being treated at other hospitals.

Akdag praised the efforts of hospital staff "for risking their own lives" to join firefighters in evacuating patients after the blaze.

"We might have faced a greater disaster if the response was delayed and the fire spread to the whole hospital," he said.