A fire in a hospital in Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey, killed at least ten people on Saturday, all patients hospitalized for covid-19, announced the Turkish Minister of Health.
The fire occurred in the intensive care unit for patients with covid-19 from the hospital, after the explosion of an oxygen tube from a ventilator.
The other patients affected by the fire were transferred to other hospitals in the area.
“We are deeply saddened for this tragic event, “said Fahrettin Koca, Turkish Minister of Health, who had planned to visit the site.
A previous balance reported nine deaths.
Turkey has registered more than 1.9 million cases of covid-19 and more than 17,600 deaths since the virus appeared.
At the end of November, in the face of the increase in COVID-19 cases, Turkey tightened the restrictions with the introduction of a total and partial curfew on weekends.
