Fire at Tehran Medical Center Leaves 19 Dead and 14 Injured
A fire and explosion at the Sina Ather Medical Center in Tehran on Tuesday evening, Tir 10, resulted in at least 19 deaths and 14 injuries.
National emergency officials stated that the fire and explosion occurred at 20:46 at the Sina Ather clinic, claiming the lives of 15 women and four men.
According to Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Tehran’s prosecutor reported that the cause of the incident was the explosion of three oxygen capsules in the clinic’s operating room.
The spokesman for Tehran Emergency Services also stated that patients and medical staff present in the surgical operating rooms suffered the highest number of casualties and injuries in the fire and explosion at the Sina Ather Medical Center.
According to IRNA, Peyman Saberian added that although the fire and explosion started in the basement of the building, these individuals on the fourth and fifth floors of the building suffered the most damage.
The Tehran Emergency Services spokesman said that seven of the injured from this incident were treated on an outpatient basis and seven others were transferred to Shahids-e Tajrish Hospital.
Meanwhile, IRNA reported citing the Medical Association Organization’s channel that more than half of the fatalities were doctors and operating room staff.
Jalal Maleki, spokesman for Tehran Fire Department, stated that upon notification of the incident, firefighters were dispatched from four stations, and the number of personnel was subsequently increased.
He added: Through the efforts of firefighters, 20 people who were inside the building at the time of the incident were rescued.
According to the report, the fire at Sina Ather Medical Center was brought under control after two hours, and firefighters, despite two explosions in the initial minutes of the incident, prevented the fire from spreading to other buildings in the area.
In this regard, Hamid Heidavand, Deputy Commander of Greater Tehran Police, stated that the cause of the incident is under investigation by fire department experts and police detectives.
The Deputy Police Commander added: In the initial investigations, the cause of the incident has been reported as gas leakage and electrical cable malfunction.
Source: Radio Farda
