Some people were still trying to determine the whereabouts of loved ones among the 103 patients inside Badim Hospital when the blaze erupted.
Representational image (Photo: IStock)
At least eleven people were killed after a massive fire broke out late on Thursday at a private hospital in the southeastern Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro, according to authorities.
Roberto Ramos, police inspector said, “There may still be more fatalities, I hope not, but that possibility exists”.
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Some people were still trying to determine the whereabouts of loved ones among the 103 patients inside Badim Hospital when the blaze erupted.
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The Rio coroner’s office said that some of the victims died of smoke inhalation, while others perished as a result of the failure of respirators and other life-support devices.
Carlos Outerelo, 60, was visiting his sick mother when the fire started Thursday night. Berta Gonçalves Berreiros Sousa, 93, was among the dead.
When firefighters arrived, they evacuated people but it was more difficult to move patients who were hooked up to medical equipment, according to reports.
Camila Donato, a police spokeswoman, said police were cleared by firefighters to enter the hospital on Friday morning and they are investigating the case.
The department said residents of about six properties located near the hospital had been instructed to evacuate their homes as a precaution.
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