Six patients, including four women and two men, were killed in a fire at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital in Johor Bahru.
The fire on level two of the Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) started at around 8.55am on Tuesday (Oct 25).
The Director of Johor's Fire and Rescue Department Othman Abdullah said 166 firemen and 10 emergency vehicles were rushed to HSA at 8.56am.
Mr Othman said the six who were killed were among the seven patients in the southern ICU on the second floor of the hospital.
One patient was rescued by firefighters who rushed there after being notified at 8.56am, he added.
"There were seven critically ill patients in the ICU who, according to doctors, were dependent on ventilators under normal circumstances and could not be moved without their beds," he said.
He said the fire did not spread to other areas of the hospital.
Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a latest tweet that: "The Government will conduct a thorough investigation as soon as possible to identify the cause of the fire."
In an earlier statement, health minister Dr S. Subramaniam said he was "deeply saddened" by the news and that authorities have "taken the necessary actions to control the fire and to rescue the patients/staff affected by the incident."
"The Ministry of Health has taken all necessary rescue actions and precautions to safeguard the rest of the patients and staff, including evacuating them to ensure their safety. The cause of the fire is still under investigation and all relevant agencies are working together to keep the situation under control," the statement added.
He also confirmed that six patients had died while one patient had been transferred to the Burn Unit at Sultan Ismail Hospital.
"Ten of our staff were also affected with injuries, whereby two of them had been transfered to nearby hospital for treatment," the statement said.
Meanwhile, Johor Bahru Selatan Police chief ACP Sulaiman Salleh said five of the bodies were found at 11.15am and the sixth a little later. He advised the public not to be taken in by unverified information. It was unclear what started the fire.
According to chief firefighter Muhammad Rizal Bin Buang from the Johor Fire and Rescue Department: "The fire was isolated only to the ICU ward, where 3 hospital staff and 7 patients were at. One of the staff saw flames in the ward area. They (the staff) were unable to put it out and escaped.
"When we entered the ward, it was already dark and there was smoke everywhere. But thankfully, we managed to contain the fire to that specific ward. We tried to save the 7 patients, who all needed oxygen assistance as part of their treatment. But we could only rescue 1 in time. We are still investigating the source of the fire," he added.
An eyewitness, Habibah Abd Ghani, 37, said she was not aware of the fire and only realised it after she was out of the building.
"During the incident, I was in the fourth floor ward with my father who was admitted for pain in his ribs. Then I heard a commotion and was asked by the nurse to get out of the ward."
She added: "The situation was under control as we went down the stairs, assisted by the hospital employees."
The HSA is Johor's biggest hospital. The evacuated patients were being taken to other hospitals in the state, Health Ministry director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement.
