Fire outbreak kills ‘five COVID-19 patients’ in Russian hospital

A fire outbreak in a hospital in St Petersburg, Russia, has killed at least five COVID-19 patients in an intensive care unit.

The fire outbreak, which occurred on Tuesday at St George Hospital, was said to have been caused by a short-circuit in a ventilator.

The deceased patients were reportedly on ventilators.

Doctors were quoted as saying a short-circuit caused a ventilator “literally to explode” because of the oxygen concentration, and the ward filled with smoke, which suffocated the patients.

According to Russia’s NTV, a source claimed that the ventilator that caused the fire was installed in early May.

“We are considering versions of a short circuit, malfunction, overload, improper operation,” the source said.

The Russian emergency ministry was also quoted to have said 150 people were evacuated from the hospital but did not state the exact number of casualties.

Investigation to determine if the fire was caused by criminal negligence “either in the ventilator design and manufacture or in the hospital’s fire precautions” has begun.

Russia has the third-highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the world; the country has recorded 232,243 cases.

About 2,116 deaths have also been recorded while 43,512 patients have recovered from the disease.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an easing of the nationwide lockdown.

Putin said some sectors would be opened while restrictions on public gatherings would remain in place.

The president, who noted that the epidemiological situation in different regions varied greatly, said local governments would retain the right to keep lockdown measures in different parts of the country.

“We have a long and difficult process ahead of us with no room for mistakes,” Putin said.