Massive fire breaks out in Covid-19 hospital in Phillipines

So far, no casualties have been reported in the fire at Philippine General Hospital which is situated in the capital city  Manila, extinguished at dawn.

Rescue teams and police reached the spot after getting information, while firefighters put out the blaze and evacuated dozens of patients from the hospital.

Some of the patients were transferred to nearby hospitals, including two who needed surgery and 12 babies from the neonatal Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Hospital staff said the fire started in an operating room supply area soon after midnight. However, the cause of fire is unknown yet.

Authorities could not immediately be reached for comment.

The hospital has more than 1,300 beds and treats 600,000 patients per year.

The Philippines ranks second in Southeast Asia in terms of Covid-19 cases, with more than 1.1 million infections and deaths in excess of 19,000.

Earlier in April, at least 13 patients lost their lives after a massive fire raged in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Covid Care hospital in Indian hospital

Reportedly, a short circuit in the air conditioning unit of the hospital was the preliminary cause of the fire.