Fire and smoke at a Covid ward in Greece kill one and injure at least two others.

ATHENS — A fireplace broke out on Wednesday in a Covid ward at a hospital in Thessaloniki, a metropolis in northern Greece, killing one individual and significantly injuring at the very least two others, mentioned Vassilis Vathrakoyiannis, a spokesman for Greece’s fireplace service.

It’s the newest of a number of lethal fires at hospitals treating coronavirus sufferers in several components of the world for the reason that pandemic started.

The hearth, which occurred at Papanikolaou hospital, broke out at about 9 a.m. native time and was contained by firefighters despatched to the scene inside 5 minutes, however thick smoke engulfed a number of wards and slowed the seek for survivors, Mr. Vathrakoyiannis mentioned.

“Throughout an inspection of the ward, firefighters discovered a burned man and two burn victims,” Mr. Vathrakoyiannis mentioned, including that greater than 30patients had been moved outdoors the hospital.

It was not instantly clear what triggered the fireplace, however preliminary testimony by different sufferers within the ward advised {that a} man had “set fireplace to his garments,” although it was unclear whether or not this had been unintentional, Mr. Vathrakoyiannis mentioned.

The top of the ward, Diamantis Chloros, mentioned he was in his workplace when the on-duty physician alerted him. “I heard her shouting, ‘Fireplace! Fast!’ after which noticed smoke billowing out of the ward like there had been an explosion,” he mentioned. “I attempted to exit into the hall. There was thick smoke coming into my workplace.”

There was no fireplace detection system on the clinic, which is typical of previous hospitals, he mentioned.

“There are oxygen tanks within the clinic and a variety of flammable materials, sheets, blankets, plastic, so this could have actually fueled the fireplace,” he mentioned and added that some sufferers got oxygen within the hospital yard after they had been evacuated.

In what seems to have been probably the most severe fireplace at a ward treating coronavirus sufferers, at the very least 92 individuals died in July at a hospital within the metropolis of Nasiriya in southern Iraq. There have been additionally lethal fires final 12 months at hospitals in Romania, India and North Macedonia.