One dead, one intubated and four with burn injuries is the tragic result of the fire that broke out this morning at Papanikolaou Hospital in Thessaloniki.

The dead person was found on the second floor of the building of the Pulmonary Clinic, in the covid wing from where the fire started.

Strong fire brigade forces are operating at the scene with eleven vehicles and 30 men.

“A patient who is being treated for coronavirus probably set himself on fire,” Diamantis Chloros, director of the covid clinic in Papanikolaou, told Open TV.

The fire quickly spread to the three-storey building, where 20 seriously ill patients with coronavirus are being treated.

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“The smoke is very dense and at the moment, we have no idea what is happening with the 20 patients”, noted Mr. Chloros.

From the first moment, the fire brigade helped to evacuate patients and medical staff.

A total of 35 patients were safely transported to other areas of either the same hospital or to others.

As soon as the fire broke out, the cause of which is being investigated by the Fire Department, the emergency evacuation plan of the clinic was been implemented, as it was prepared by the EKAB Operations Center from 2018 for all hospitals.

It is important to note that every year all hospitals conduct operational simulation drills of all emergency plans, so that employees know the basic steps to be taken before the fire brigade or other bodies intervene.