At least 25 killed and 100 people injured after blaze breaks out at Jazan hospital in Saudi Arabia
JAZAN (Saudi Arabia) – A fire at a hospital in Saudi Arabia has killed at least 25 people and injured 123 others, the Civil Defense said.
The fire broke out early Thursday morning at the Jazan General Hospital in the southern coastal city of Jazan, said Civil Defense spokesman Maj. Yahya al-Qahtany.
Saudi Arabia’s government-controlled al-Ekhbariya television interviewed a witness who said the cause of the fire appeared to be electrical, and that it swept through the hospital in just 3 minutes.
“We could hear the women screaming,” said the man, who was not named.
The 25 dead included one child, the television quoted the director of civil defence in Jizan, Major General Saad bin Al-Ghamdi, as saying.
It was the latest in a string of disasters at public facilities in Saudi Arabia this year, including the deadly crush at the haj pilgrimage that killed hundreds of worshippers.
The 107 injured on Thursday were transferred to other hospitals in the area. The fire was brought under control and an investigation into its cause was under way, the agency added.
