Turkish Health Minister Koja confirmed on his social account on the night of the 19th local time that the number of deaths in the oxygen equipment explosion in a private hospital in Gaziantep Province had increased to 10.
At 4:45 a.m. local time on the 19th, an oxygen equipment explosion occurred in the intensive care unit of COVID-19 patients at SANKO University Hospital, a private hospital in Gaziantep.
Koja said that 19 patients were being admitted to the ward at that time. After the explosion, seven people died on the spot and one died of serious injuries. Two other people died after being transferred to another hospital.
At present, the remaining nine patients are being treated in other hospitals. According to the information released by the hospital, the victims were all over 56 years old.
Earlier, the government of Gazi Antep Province issued a statement saying that the high-flow oxygen treatment machine used to treat severe patients with COVID-19 caused the fire. Koja said that a task force had been set up to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident.
Turkish Health Minister Koja confirmed that the number of deaths in the oxygen equipment explosion in a private hospital in Gaziantep Province has increased to nine.
According to the Anadolu News Agency, seven people died on the spot after the explosion, and the latest number of deaths has increased to nine. According to the information released by the hospital, the victims were all over 56 years old.
Previously, the government of Gazi Antep Province also issued a statement saying that the high-flow oxygen treatment machine used to treat severe patients with COVID-19 caused the fire, but the specific reason is still under further investigation.
On the 19th, local time, the office of the governor of Gaziantep, a southeastern province of Turkey, issued a statement saying that at 4:45 a.m.
on the same day, an explosion of oxygen equipment occurred in a private hospital there, killing eight people so far.
The statement said that the area where the explosion occurred was the intensive care unit where the hospital admitted COVID-19 patients. At the time of the explosion, a total of 19 patients were treated.
At present, the remaining 11 patients have been urgently transferred to other nearby hospitals, but the statement did not mention whether anyone was injured.
The specific cause of the explosion of oxygen equipment needs to be further investigated.
In addition, the hospital issued a statement earlier that the explosion caused a fire, but with the full efforts of firefighters, the fire has been controlled.
After the explosion accident, the hospital has taken strict prevention and control measures in relevant areas to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
