Members of the emergency services works at the scene of a hospital fire where the intensive care unit was burned in Piatra Neamt city, November 14, 2020.
(ROBERT IOSUB / AFP)
BUCHAREST - Ten people died on Saturday in a fire at a Romanian hospital treating coronavirus patients, the country’s agency for emergency situations said.
The blaze broke out in the intensive care unit of the Piatra Neamt county hospital and spread to an adjoining room. It was unclear what triggered it, officials said.
The blaze broke out in the intensive care unit of the Piatra Neamt county hospital and spread to an adjoining room. It was unclear what triggered it, officials said
Seven other people were injured and in a critical condition, including the doctor on call, they said.
Prosecutors said they would investigate the cause of the fire.
Health Minister Nelu Tataru told reporters six surviving patients would be transferred to a COVID-19 hospital in the eastern Romanian city of Iasi.
ALSO READ: Russia to probe safety of ventilators after hospital fire kills 5
The injured doctor, who had severe burns on 40 percent of his body, would be transferred to a hospital in the capital Bucharest, Tataru said.
“In future legislation, all public hospitals will be coordinated by the health ministry,” Tataru said without elaborating. Local hospitals are currently run by county councils, making overall supervision of the health system difficult.
Tataru said the Piatra Neamt hospital would continue to run an intensive care unit on a separate floor.
The fire was the country’s deadliest since 2015, when a night club in the capital Bucharest burned down and 65 people died.
READ MORE: Regulator: Russia suspends use of ventilator type after hospital fires
That blaze triggered mass protests across Romania at the country’s culture of graft and lack of accountability.
Romania has reported 353,185 coronavirus cases and 8,813 deaths. Just under 13,000 people with COVID-19 were in hospital across Romania on Saturday, including 1,172 in intensive care units.
