- ABHA: A fire broke out at a hospital in Al-Birk in Asir province after heavy rains caused an electrical short circuit there on Monday.
Although the fire did not cause any injuries, the hospital was evacuated and all inpatients and staff were sent to a nearby hospital.
“Nobody suffered any injuries in the fire. Director General of the Health Affairs Department in the province Dr. Abdullah Al-Wadie supervised the evacuation of the hospital,” spokesman of the department Saeed Al-Naqir told Arab News.
He added that there were only 10 patients receiving treatment in the wards at the time of the fire. “All of them were sent to Al-Qahma hospital in eight ambulances with the collaboration of the Red Crescent. Medical staff accompanied the patients.”
A man who was passing by the hospital alerted the authorities about the fire. “I noticed unusually thick smoke near the inpatient wards of the hospital and suspected a fire. Immediately I called the hospital and Civil Defense to warn them,” eyewitness Fahd Asiri told Arab News. Before it spread the fire was put out.
