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Nine people have died in an oxygen cylinder explosion in the intensive care unit treating Govit-19 patients in Turkey, the health minister has said.
The fire broke out at a private Sango University hospital in Gaziantep, 530 miles (850 km) southeast of Istanbul, according to the state-run Anatolian News Agency. It cited a hospital report that identified the victims as aged 56 to 85. The fire was soon brought under control.
The report said 14 intensive care patients had been transferred to other hospitals. The investigation is ongoing.
Health Minister Bahredin Koka tweeted that nine people had been killed in the fire, which raised earlier estimates that eight people had died by the hospital and the Gaziantep governor’s office. There is no explanation for the contradiction.
The governor’s office said 19 patients were in the ward when the high-pressure oxygen device exploded at 4.45am (1.45pm). It said no one was injured except in the fire.
Intensive care units across Turkey currently account for 74% of beds as a result of the outbreak of the corona virus, and according to government figures, medical associations say the number is high and their hospitals are overcrowded with Govt-19 patients.
Turkey’s health ministry on Friday reported 26,410 new corona virus cases, bringing the country’s total to 1.98 million since March. The figure includes a number of asymptomatic cases that Ankara did not report in the four months to late November, sparking criticism that the government was trying to cover up the scale of the country’s explosion.
Turkey also recorded a daily maximum of 246 Govt-19 deaths on Friday, bringing the total to 17,610.
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