Nine killed after fire engulfs hospital in Taiwan

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Nine people have died and another 16 were injured after a fire broke out in a hospital in New Taipei City in Taiwan, local authorities said Monday.

Out of the 16 wounded, 10 sustained severe injuries, while the rest suffered minor injuries, according to local media.

Following the incident, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, expressed condolences to the victims and expressed heartfelt sympathy to their families and the injured.

The fire started in a ward on the seventh floor of the Taipei Hospital around 4:30 a.m. on Monday and was extinguished at 5:27 a.m..

Patients wait outside a hospital in New Taipei City, Taiwan, after it caught fire Monday morning. /VCG Photo

There were 32 patients on the floor at the time, according to Xinhua News Agency citing a local firefighter surnamed Chen.

"When we arrived there were flames coming out of the ward. The rest of the wards on the floor were filled with heavy smoke," Chen told Xinhua.

Medical workers helped some patients escape. Others climbed to the top floor and were rescued by firefighters with cranes.

The cause of the fire remains unclear now and an investigation has been ordered into the case.

In 2012, a hospital fire in southern Tainan city has killed 13 people and injured over 60 others when a cancer patient set a fire in the nursing facility.

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