Four dead in fire at Romania Covid hospital

This is the second fire incident in a Covid hospital in just three months

Firemen gather in the courtyard of the Matei Bals infectious diseases hospital's  burned pavilion in Bucharest on January 29, 2021 where at least four people died after a fire broke out in Romania's main hospital treating Covid-19 patients. (AFP via Getty Images)

At least four people were killed and several injured after a deadly fire broke out at a Covid-19 hospital in Romania, the second such incident in three months.  

The fire broke out in Matei Bals, one of the largest hospitals in capital Bucharest, where nearly 7,700 COVID-19 patients are admitted.  

About 120 patients were rushed out of the hospital, Bogdan Toma, spokesperson of Romanian General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, told AFP.

"Three patients were found dead and a fourth died later," Raed Arafat, Secretary of State at the Ministry of the Interior, told reporters, adding that those killed were coronavirus patients.  

The fire was controlled after emergency services were rushed to the spot. Four rooms were damaged in the blaze that is reported to have started at the ground floor of the building.  

The cause of fire is being investigated. 

About 44 seriously ill Covid-19 patients, some requiring oxygen support, were shifted to other hospitals across Bucharest and the remaining relocated to other buildings at Matei Bals.

“None of the (evacuated) patients have burns, from the information we currently have,” Mr Arafat told reporters.

This is the second fire incident in a Covid hospital in just three months.  

In November, at least 10 people were killed in a deadly fire that broke out in the intensive care unit in a public hospital in the country’s Piatra Neamt city. A doctor was seriously injured while trying to rescue Covid patients during this incident.

At the time of this fire in November, Marius Filip, director of the Romanian health authority, told AFP that less than a third of the country’s hospitals have the required fire-safety certifications.

Romania has 721,513 coronavirus cases and 18,105 deaths. The country reported a record rise of up to 10,000 daily cases in November, when many of its hospitals were overcrowded.