Around 60 patients were evacuated from Yangon General Hospital last night after a fire broke out in the cancer ward. There were no reported deaths or injuries.
According to Myanmar state media, the fire was caused by an overheated electrical outlet in a minor operating room in the cancer outpatient department. The flames spread to wooden beams in the ceiling and to other wires.
Firefighters were called when patients and staff saw smoke coming from the room. When they arrived, they vacuumed the smoke out of the building and extinguished the fire within 30 minutes.
The fire caused an estimated K375,000 (US$253) in damage.
Officials from the Nuclear Energy Department under the Ministry of Education confirmed there was no radiological danger.
Yangon General Hospital was built by colonizers and opened in 1905.
Reader Interactions