Fire in Hilla hospital claims three lives, causes smoke inhalation

BABIL — A fire in the oncology center of Imam Sadiq Hospital in central Hilla led to the deaths of three intensive care unit patients and caused several cases of smoke inhalation.

Civil defense teams extinguished the flames, which they attributed to an electrical fault. The hospital’s medical staff evacuated the remaining patients to nearby hospitals.

A civil defense source told 964media, “We managed to put out the fire, and after investigation, it was determined that the cause was a malfunction in the UPS device used to charge radiation devices inside the center, leading to an electrical fault that sparked the blaze.”

A medical source at the hospital informed 964media, “The electrical fault resulted in the deaths of three patients in the ICU and several cases of smoke inhalation. The entire section was damaged due to the presence of equipment, medications, and disinfectants that contributed to the spread of the fire.”