NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — A massive fire at the oldest hospital in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa forced the evacuation of around 100 patients late Tuesday, the police and Kenyan Red Cross said.
Coast regional police commander Rashid Yakub said: “We have established that fire started as a result of a gas cylinder that exploded”.
“But luckily we have no casualties because all patients and staff were evacuated in time,” he said.
Kenya Red Cross said in a statement that more than 100 patients had been transferred to the Aga Khan Hospital in Mombasa, the East African country’s second-largest city.
The fire started at around 8:30 pm (1730 GMT), the NGO added.
The local TV news showed dramatic images of flame and smoke rising into the sky at the hospital site.
Built by British colonists in 1890, the hospital has 125 beds.
© Agence France-Presse
