Candle lit in memory of Covid-19 patient burns down Ukrainian intensive care unit, killing three people
- A hospital employee in Kosiv lit the tribute in accordance with local tradition
- It was held in the intensive care unit where oxygen concentrators were held
- The equipment caught fire and three people were killed and four others injured
Three people have died in Ukraine after a candle lit in memory of a Covid patient set fire to an intensive care unit.
A hospital employee in Kosiv, a western town on the edge of the Carpathian mountains, lit a candle in accordance with local tradition.
The tribute was held in the hospital’s intensive care unit where five oxygen concentrators had been operating, with equipment instantly catching fire.
Three people have died in Ukraine after a candle lit in memory of a Covid patient set fire to an intensive care unit (file image)
‘Ignorance of the elementary laws of physics and disregard for safety rules have led to irreparable losses,’ the emergencies services said.
They described the incident as a ‘terrible mistake.’
Three people – including two patients – were killed.
Four other people were treated for severe burns.
Deadly fires are common in the ex-Soviet nation due to poor compliance with safety regulations and ageing infrastructure.
In February, an oxygen explosion killed one coronavirus patient and injured another at a hospital in the western city of Chernivtsi.
The same month, four people died in the southwestern city of Zaporizhzhya after a fire ripped through the intensive care unit of a hospital that was treating coronavirus patients.