Five COVID-19 patients who were under intensive care were killed in a fire that broke out in a hospital ward in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday.

Russian media reported the incident and noted that it may have been caused by a short-circuit on one of the ventilation machines used to support the patients. Tass a Russian news agency cited a source in the emergency service regarding the said claims.

During a press service, the Ministry of Emergency Situations stated that the fire at the St. George Hospital has already been contained, yet they did not provide the exact number of people who were killed and injured in the incident. But it was revealed that 150 have already been evacuated from the hospital.

Moreover, the news agency also reported later that day that Russia will no longer be using the 'Aventa-M' model of ventilator until the ongoing investigation about the fire in the hospital is completed.

'Aventa-M' is the same ventilator model which was recently sent to the United States from Russia as part of consignment equipment that will be used to help combat the pandemic. The US State Department is still yet to respond to questions about whether the 'Aventa-M' model is currently being used in US hospitals.

St. George Hospital which was located in Russia's second-largest city St. Petersburg has been reported to have been re-quipped in order to be able to treat patients who were diagnosed with the coronavirus disease.

In a report by a different news agency, a spokesman for the coutnry's emergency services stated that the cause of the incident was malfunction of electrical equipment but is not limited to ventilators.

Moreover, Moscow Times reported that there is a possibility that the fire broke out due to an overload which and that ventilators were pushed to their limits, causing them malfunction.

COVID-19 in Russia

News of the fire came just as the number of coronavirus cases in Russia is rapidly increasing. Due to this, the country's health-care system is put under even more pressure than it already is.

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Russia now follows the US and has the second-highest number of cases in the world which has totaled to more than 230,000 confirmed cases.

At the moment, Russia's Investigative Committee, which is known to examine serious crimes in the country has already launched a probe on the incident.

The incident also followed several fire incidents around the country. Last week, a fire in a Moscow hospital which also treats coronavirus patients has taken one life and has forced hundreds to evacuate. Investigators are also probing in two other separate fire incidents at resident homes in Moscow which has both caused injuries and casualties.

The fire and death of the five patients have increased doubts regarding the safety and standard of equipment used to treat COVID-19 patients. Recently some doctors in the UK reported that ventilators that were bought from China were not safe for patients to use.

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