- Drafting
- BBC World News
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5 hours
Image source, Getty Images
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Several fire trucks rushed to deal with the blaze that engulfed the roof beams of the hospital.
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A medical team from a Russian hospital successfully completed open heart surgery as firefighters struggled to contain a serious fire engulfing the roof of the old building.
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More than 120 people were evacuated and no injuries were reported at the hospital in Blagoveshchensk in the far east of Russia.
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The surgery continued thanks to an emergency power cord that was installed in the operating room on the ground floor while the fans kept the smoke out.
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The patient who underwent cardiac surgery was later evacuated.
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The main surgeon, Valentin Filatov, said his team “had to save this person.”
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“We did everything possible,” he said.
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Eight doctors and nurses they participated in the two-hour operation, which began just before the fire broke out.
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Russia’s Emergency Ministry reported that the hospital was built in 1907, in the tsarist era, and that the fire “spread like lightning through the wooden ceilings.” A short circuit is believed to have caused the fire.
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Image source, Governor of Amur / Reuters
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An operating room at the hospital (file photo courtesy of the Amur regional governor).
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The doctor Antonina Smolina assured that “no spread the panic” among hospital staff.
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Amur Regional Governor Vasily Orlov praised the professionalism of the surgical team and firefighters for putting out the fire. They are expected to receive awards.
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It is the only hospital in the region with a specialized cardiology unit.
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