Nine patients killed in hospital fire in Rasht, northern Iran | News

According to local authorities, all those killed in the fire were in intensive care at Qaem Hospital.

Tehran, Iran – Nine patients died when a fire broke out in the basement of a hospital in the city of Rasht in northern Iran.

The six women and three men killed were in the intensive care unit of Qaem Hospital, local authorities said. All patients in the facility have been evacuated.

Mohammad Taghi Ashoubi, head of Gilan University of Medical Sciences, told reporters on Tuesday that one intubated patient in intensive care had died, while eight others had been killed earlier.

“The cause of death of these patients is being investigated by the Gilan forensic doctor,” he was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

Five infants who were in Qaem Hospital have been transferred to the 17th Shahrivar Children’s Hospital and are in good health, he said.

The fire broke out in a room in the basement of the hospital where the emergency power generators were located, state media reported.

Authorities have not commented on unconfirmed reports that the fire broke out after widespread use of emergency generators amid power outages amid Iran’s scorching heat.

The fire is believed to have broken out at around 1:30 a.m. (22:00 GMT on Monday) and the cause is currently under investigation.

Right now, many people are not welcome in the United States and Canada. #smile_in_summer A large part of the population has been born in the country for over a year and since then it has become one of the most visited countries and today is the first woman to ever give birth. After you have given birth to your child, please contact us.#Sayings#Boy pic.twitter.com/iJUfTzGbJB

— Hyrcani Human Rights Media (@HyrcaniHRM) June 18, 2024

Translation: According to reports from people present at the scene of the fire disaster at Qaem Hospital in Rasht, the fire broke out in the generator room after the hospital experienced a prolonged power outage and emergency power was used. The patients in the intensive care unit died of suffocation due to smoke inhalation.

The 250-bed hospital was caring for 142 patients at the time of the incident, 33 of them in intensive care. Dozens of people had to be transported to several health facilities in the area.

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said he was in contact with provincial authorities to coordinate assistance for the injured, ensure the hospital’s safety for resumption of operations and investigate the cause of the fire.

Hadi Salimi, the head of the Red Crescent in the province, told state media that 26 teams with 75 rescue workers from eight counties had been dispatched to the hospital.

At the end of January, a major fire raged in the 17-story Gandhi Hospital in the capital Tehran, but caused no casualties. In June 2020, a fire in a clinic in northern Tehran led to a massive explosion caused by gas canisters, killing 19 people.

A fire raged in a dilapidated drug rehabilitation center in the town of Langarud, also in Gilan province, last November, killing 36 people who were trapped inside.

Officials said the fire was started by a 28-year-old who had been receiving treatment at the facility and wanted to burn it down to free the people inside. The center can accommodate a maximum of 30 people, but there were 49 people inside at the time of the incident.