Eight killed in Turkey hospital fire

Ankara, May 26 (Xinhua) Eight people were killed when a major fire broke out in a hospital's intensive care unit in western Turkey, authorities said Tuesday.

The dead were patients being treated in the intensive care unit of the Sevket Yilmaz hospital in Bursa, provincial Governor Sahabettin Harputlu was quoted as saying by the semi-official Anatolia news agency.

Electric short circuit was believed to be the cause of the fire, Harputlu said.

'Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire and evacuated 44 patients, but unfortunately eight patients of intensive care unit died,' he said.

The rescued patients were sent to 10 other hospitals for treatment, he added.

He also said that the state hospital suffered a similar fire four years ago.