Tragic fire in Baghdad hospital with Covid patients: 27 dead

BAGHDAD.- At least 27 people died and 46 were injured in a fire this Saturday in a hospital south-east of Baghdad which had been equipped to house coronavirus patientsmedical sources from three nearby hospitals said.

The incident at Ibn Khatib Hospital in the Diyala Bridge area of ​​the Iraqi capital occurred after an accident caused the explosion of an oxygen tankthe sources said.

Numerous ambulances rushed to the hospital to transport those injured in the blaze, a Reuters photographer said near the scene. Patients who were not injured in the incident were also taken out of the hospital, medical sources said.

The head of the Iraqi civil defense unit said the fire broke out on the ground designated for the pulmonary intensive care unit and that 90 out of around 120 people were rescued from the hospital, according to the official INA news agency. Major General Kadhim Bohan added that the fire had been extinguished.

The Iraqi healthcare system, already ruined by decades of sanctions, war and neglect, has been overwhelmed during the coronavirus crisis. The total number of people infected with Covid-19 in Iraq is 102,5288, including 15,217 deaths, the health ministry said on Saturday.

Reuters Agency

THE NATION