At least 27 people were killed and 46 wounded in a fire Saturday at a hospital in southeast Baghdad that was equipped to accommodate patients with Covid-19, medical sources at three nearby hospitals said.
The fire at Ibn Khatib Hospital in the area of the Diyala Bridge in the Iraqi capital occurred after the accident caused the explosion of an oxygen tank, sources said.
Many ambulances rushed towards the hospital, taking the injured by fire, a Reuters photographer said.
Patients who were not injured in the incident were also transferred from the hospital.
The head of the Iraqi civil defense unit told the state news agency INA that the fire broke out on the floor intended for pulmonary intensive care and that 90 out of 120 people were saved in the hospital.
Major General Kadhim Bohan added that the fire has now been extinguished.
The Iraqi health system, which has already been destroyed by decades of sanctions, war and neglect, has further expanded during the coronavirus crisis.
The total number of people infected with Covid-19 in Iraq is 102.5288, including 15.217 deaths, the health ministry said on Saturday.
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