Two dead, one injured after German hospital fire

Two people have died in a fire at a hospital in the northern German town of Ludwigslust, near Schwerin, officials said on Thursday.

A spokeswoman for the Ludwigslust-Parchim district told dpa that the two victims were patients. 

Early on Thursday morning, police reported 34 people injured, but the Ludwigslust-Parchim district later stated that there is only one injured person suffering from smoke inhalation.

Dozens of people were initially reported to the emergency services as requiring medical assessment, but were subsequently classified as uninjured, the police spokeswoman explained.

She said such figures are always a snapshot at the time of enquiry and may still change. 

Initial findings suggest the fire started in a patient room. The district administrator said one of the victims was in the room where the fire broke out, while the other was in a neighbouring room.

One of them had initially been resuscitated, but without success.

The hospital's roof structure caught fire at around 4:30 am (0230 GMT), according to authorities. Patients and staff were evacuated from the building as emergency services responded.

There were reportedly just under 60 patients in the hospital at the time of the fire.

By morning, flames and smoke were rising from the roof of the five-storey building. Outside, people wrapped in rescue blankets were sitting on the grass in front of the hospital.

Staff pushed patients across the hospital grounds, while some patients were able to slowly walk out on their own. Others waited in wheelchairs or on benches outside the clinic. Many had towels wrapped around their shoulders.

According to the hospital's website, the facility has 160 beds. It is the only hospital in Ludwigslust and provides basic and standard medical care for the region.

A district spokeswoman said around 90 firefighters worked to successfully extinguish the fire, adding that around 40 police officers were on duty.

Thanks to the hospital's effective fire safety measures, the fire service was able to reopen the unaffected wards. Many patients are being cared for there, while five patients have been transferred to neighbouring hospitals.