OREANDA-NEWS. Five people died in a fire in the intensive care unit at Saint George’s Hospital in Saint Petersburg. This was reported by TASS news agency referring to emergency services of the city. 150 people were evacuated. Patients infected with the new type of coronavirus were in the clinic.

“In a fire, five patients connected to mechanical ventilation apparatus died,” the journalists’ interlocutor said. According to him, the cause of the fire could be a short circuit in the ventilator or its malfunction.

According to a source of Interfax information agency, all the victims were diagnosed with COVID-19.

It is known that the fire in the hospital began this morning in a room on the sixth floor. The fire area was 10 square meters. At the moment, the fire is localized. The Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case under Part 3 of Article 109 of the Criminal Code (causing death to two or more persons by negligence).