A fire broke out on Saturday at an intensive care unit that treated COVID-19 patients in southern Turkey after an oxygen cylinder exploded, killing nine people, the health minister said.
The state-run Anadolu news agency said the fire took place at the Sanko University Hospital in Gaziantep, 850 kilometers southeast of Istanbul. He quoted a hospital statement that identified victims between the ages of 56 and 85. The fire was quickly brought under control.
The statement states that 14 patients undergoing intensive care have been transferred to other hospitals. An investigation is ongoing.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca wrote on Twitter that nine people had been killed in the blaze, raising the previous estimate of eight people who died at the hospital and the Gaziantep governor’s office. There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.
The governor’s office said 19 patients were in the unit when a “high-pressure oxygen device” exploded at 4:45 a.m. (0145GMT). Except for the deaths, no one was injured in the blaze, he said.
Intensive care units in Turkey currently have a bed occupancy rate of 74% due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to government figures, although medical associations say the figure is higher and their hospitals are overcrowded with COVID-19 patients.
On Friday night, the Turkish Ministry of Health reported 26,410 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the country’s total since March to 1.98 million. The figure includes asymptomatic cases, which Ankara did not report in the four months to the end of November, prompting criticism that the government tried to hide the country’s outbreak.
Turkey reached a daily record of 246 COVID-19-related deaths reported on Friday for a total of 17,610 coronavirus-related deaths.