BUCHAREST (Reuters) – A fire broke out at a children’s hospital in Romanian capital Bucharest late on Tuesday and 110 people were evacuated without any casualties, the government’s emergency response unit said.
Officials have said the fire broke out when a generator blew up after a power shortage. The capital and several surrounding counties are under a heatwave code red for two days with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
The fire was extinguished at around 2100 GMT. Over 100 people including 79 children were evacuated and taken to another children’s hospital nearby.
Romania experienced a string of deadly hospital fires during the COVID-19 pandemic, with dozens of people killed.
The Eastern European country has one of the European Union’s least developed healthcare infrastructures. Its healthcare system has been under pressure, dogged by corruption, inefficiencies and politicised management.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Sandra Maler)
