Hundreds of patients evacuated from Chile hospital after fire breaks out

All patients, including some on ventilators, were taken to other hospitals

Health personnel evacuate patients after a fire at the San Borja Arriaran hospital in the center of Santiago, Chile, on Saturday. Photograph: Alberto Valdes/EPA
Health personnel evacuate patients after a fire at the San Borja Arriaran hospital in the center of Santiago, Chile, on Saturday. Photograph: Alberto Valdes/EPA

A fire that broke out in a boiler room forced the evacuation of about 350 patients from a hospital in Chile’s capital on Saturday, but officials reported no injuries.

Health authorities said all of the San Borja hospital’s patients, including some Covid-19 patients hooked to ventilators, were being taken to other hospitals.

The Santiago metropolitan health agency said the fire broke out in a boiler room, and prosecutors said it could have been due to an electrical short circuit.

The fire covered the hospital in a haze of smoke as dozens of appliances and other emergency vehicles surrounded the scene.

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Firefighters said the blaze was controlled on Saturday morning.

"Nobody has died. All of the transfers have occurred with great calm," said health minister Enrique Paris. –PA