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Fire at Costa Rica hospital kills at least 18

Posted on: Tuesday, 12 July 2005, 16:39 CDT

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.

Source: REUTERS

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