Two dead, at least 34 injured in early-morning hospital roof fire in Ludwigslust
A roof fire at a hospital in Ludwigslust near Schwerin killed two patients and injured at least 34 others early Wednesday, according to police and district officials.
What happened
A fire broke out in the roof structure of a hospital in Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, around 4:28 a.m. on Wednesday. The blaze rapidly spread through the attic, and the fire brigade assessed the situation as critical. Patients and hospital staff were evacuated from the building while emergency services fought the flames. The exact number of people still inside was initially unclear, and authorities described the scene as highly dynamic.
Casualties
At least 34 people were injured in the incident. One person required cardiopulmonary resuscitation, police said. Later, a spokesperson for the Ludwigslust-Parchim district confirmed that two patients had died.
The deceased are patients.
No details on the severity of the other injuries were immediately available. Police indicated that further information would only be released once press officers arrived at the scene.
Emergency response
Firefighters, paramedics and police were deployed to the hospital after the alarm was raised shortly before 4:30 a.m. Patients and staff were being brought to safety as the roof continued to burn. The total number of people evacuated remained unknown in the first hours of the operation.
One person is being resuscitated right now.
Unanswered questions
The cause of the fire is not yet known. Investigators have not specified how many fire crews or how many personnel were involved in the response. The condition of the building after the fire was also not reported. A full assessment is expected later on Wednesday.
