One hundred newborns and children were among those evacuated from a hospital in northern Romania during that night after a fire broke out in one of the wards. Nobody was injured.
It was the latest hospital fire to break out in Romania. More than 20 have died in other blazes that were caused by poor safety standards and maintenance of equipment.
The blaze started early Thursday on the fourth floor in the obstetrics and gynecology at Suceava County Hospital department, spokesman for the Emergency Inspectorate Ali Galaeta said, Agerpres reported.
The floor was filled with smoke and flames and the electric system was on fire according to eye witness reports.
Firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after midnight. Authorities sent backups from other areas.
A total of 329 patients were evacuated, including 102 children of which 57 were newborns. Medical staff were also evacuated from lower floors.
No significant medical problems such as burns or smoke inhalation were reported.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze in about 10 minutes early Thursday.
The most likely cause was the overheating of an electric appliance which was part of the ventilation system, officials said.
Romania has been hit by a series of hospital fires since the pandemic started. Seven died in October in a fire in Constanta and four died in February a fire at a Covid-19 hospital in Bucharest.
Ten people people died in an intensive care unit in Piatra Neamt in northeast Romania in November 2020.
Romania’s health care system is plagued by corruption, bureaucracy and politicized management. Romania spends among the least of his GDP on health across the bloc.
