Fire at Costa Rica hospital kills at least 18

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) – A fire swept through one
of Costa Rica’s main hospitals early on Tuesday, killing at
least 18 people, mostly critically ill patients trapped in the
five-story building’s upper floors.

The blaze broke out shortly before 2:30 a.m. at the Rafael
Angel Calderon Guardia Hospital in San Jose, trapping patients
in the neurosurgery and intensive care wards on the top two
floors, a Red Cross official said.

Local television reported that the fire started in a
central stairwell in the public hospital. Hospital and
emergency services were not immediately available for comment.

Seventeen patients and one nurse were killed in the blaze,
which triggered several small explosions. Witnesses said
critically ill patients tried to escape from balconies and
windows on the top floor.

“It was a terrible scene,” Jose Bismar Morales, who works
at a nearby lab, told Reuters outside the charred hospital.
“People on the fifth floor were trying to throw themselves off
the balcony. Old people were running and it was very difficult
to help them.”

Morales said bystanders rescued several patients with a
ladder. They were given first aid in nearby homes before being
taken to other hospitals by volunteer taxi drivers.

Other patients in wheelchairs and hospital nightgowns were
evacuated to the street outside, as the fire raged through the
upper floors of the clinic for several hours.

The Red Cross said 116 patients were evacuated to other
hospitals, while the government declared three days of mourning
and a state of emergency throughout the Central American
nation’s hospital network.

Health Minister Rocio Saenz said the death toll could rise
in coming hours as the search for victims continued in the
charred ruins of the state-run facility, which was built in
1943.

Local media criticized evacuation measures at the state-run
hospital, with some reporting that it lacked fire escapes and
standard equipment such as fire hoses.

Costa Rica is the richest nation in Central America with an
economy based on tourism and coffee exports.