JEDDAH, 11 November 2006 — About 40 people including nine patients were evacuated from the University Hospital after a massive outbreak of fire yesterday afternoon.
Security authorities have mounted an investigation into the cause of the fire, which broke out on the second floor of the hospital and continued for two hours.
The fire has stopped the hospital from functioning and caused losses the value of which has not been estimated yet. The patients were shifted to nearby hospitals.
Informed sources said the fire was caused by an electricity short circuit. Firefighters from the Civil Defense Department immediately arrived at the scene and put out the fire in a record time, one source said.
According to the source, investigators will take samples from the site where the fire broke out to analyze them using advanced equipment. They will also question officials at the hospital.
Brig. Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, director of civil defense in Jeddah, said it was not yet clear what caused the fire. He said his department had sent eight teams to quell the blaze.
Al-Ghamdi said the civil defense would soon launch a campaign to make sure all commercial centers, hotels and hospitals have adequate safety arrangements.
