A fire at a St Petersburg hospital has killed five coronavirus patients in an intensive care unit.
The blaze was apparently started by a short-circuit in a ventilator, Russian news agencies have said.
“Ventilators are working on the brink of collapse. According to preliminary data, there was an overload and a machine ignited which caused the fire,” news agency Interfax reported, quoting a source at the St Petersburg emergencies department.
All of the patients who died had been on ventilators.
The fire has been contained and 150 people have been evacuated from the hospital, the country’s emergency ministry said. It is not clear how many people have been injured.
A criminal investigation has been launched into the incident.
Source:Â bbc.com