North Macedonia: Fire kills 10 patients at COVID hospital

World Thursday 09/September/2021 07:47 AM
By: DW
North Macedonia: Fire kills 10 patients at COVID hospital
Injured patients and medical staff were raced to hospitals in the capital Skopje.

Skopje: At least 10 people have been killed and many more injured after a fire broke at a hospital set up for COVID-19 patients in Tetovo, North Macedonia.

The country's Health Minister Venko Filipce confirmed the deaths on Twitter, saying: "A terrible accident has happened in Tetovo. At the moment, 10 people are confirmed to have died, but that number could rise."Fire services raced to the scene around 9 p.m. local time (1900 UTC), and fought to douse the flames for a couple of hours.

Local news showed footage of large flames engulfing the facility that was built last year to help care for COVID-19 patients.

According to the Health Ministry, injured medical personnel and patients were being taken to hospitals in the capital city, Skopje which lies 28 miles to the east.