Prelim report shows Clairwood patient started hospital fire
The Department of Health in KwaZulu-Natal says preliminary reports suggest the fire at Clairwood Hospital in Durban was started after one of the patients set themselves alight.
Firefighters received the call in the early hours of Thursday.
They found the one-storey building engulfed in flames.
One woman died.
"The incident occurred in an isolation ward of the hospital's Internal Medicine unit, where the patient ignited the fire. At least 23 patients were safely evacuated from an adjacent ward, which also subsequently caught alight," says the provincial health department's Nathi Olifant.
READ: One killed in Clairwood Hospital fire
"They were transferred to other available beds within Clairwood Hospital. The eThekwini Fire Department successfully extinguished the fire, and no other injuries were reported. We can confirm that a full investigation is underway into this incident."
The fire was extinguished at 5.30 am.
The fire department reported that about 20% of the southern section of the building was gutted, with the tin roof making it easier for the flames to spread to the ceiling.
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