Nine COVID-19 patients died Saturday in a fire in an intensive care unit at a hospital in southern Turkey, officials said.
An oxygen tank exploded in the ICU unit of Gaziantep University Hospital in Gaziantep and killed nine patients between the ages of 56 and 85. The fire was quickly extinguished and 10 other patients survived, the Associated Press reported.
Government figures show that ICU units in Turkey currently have 74% bed occupancy due to the pandemic, but medical officials say the number is higher and Turkish hospitals are full of coronavirus patients.
As of Friday, Turkey reported 26,410 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total since March to 1.98 million.
Turkey reached the maximum daily record of 246 COVID-19-related deaths on Friday, for a total of 17,610 deaths reported by coronavirus.