At least 27 dead in fire at Baghdad hospital for Covid-19 patients

Many ambulances were rushing towards the hospital, ferrying away those hurt by the fire, a Reuters photographer nearby said.

Patients not injured in the incident were also being transferred out of the hospital, the medical sources said.

People gather outside Ibn Khatib hospital after a fire caused by an oxygen tank explosion in Baghdad, Iraq, April 25, 2021. (Reuters Photo: Thaier Al-Sudani)

The head of Iraqi civil defense unit said the fire broke out in the floor designated for the pulmonary intensive care unit and that 90 people have been rescued from the hospital out of 120, state news agency INA quoted him as saying. Major General Kadhim Bohan added that the fire has been put out.

A patient suffering from the coronavirus disease is prepared for evacuation in an ambulance outside Ibn Khatib hospital. (Reuters Photo: Thaier Al-Sudani)

Iraq’s healthcare system, already ruined by decades of sanctions, war and neglect, has been stretched 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.