Huge fire erupts at hospital in Iran's capital, no one harmed

TEHRAN -- A huge fire erupted on Thursday at Gandhi Hospital in the Iranian capital Tehran, while no one has been harmed so far in the incident, said the official news agency IRNA.

The fire was reported at 19:00 local time (1530 GMT), following which firefighters were immediately sent to the scene, the IRNA quoted Spokesman of the Tehran Fire Department Jalal Maleki as saying.

He said the firefighters were making efforts to contain the blaze, and further details would be announced after the fire is put out.

The president of the hospital told IRNA that the eastern side of the medical center had caught fire, and the patients' evacuation was underway. Based on the initial data, no one had been harmed in the fire so far, the president added.

Iranian Health Ministry Spokesman Pedram Pakaein said to IRNA that none of the medical staff or patients had been harmed in the fire and patients who were in critical condition were being transferred to other hospitals across Tehran, noting the cause of the incident was under investigation.

Mohammad Esmaeil Tavakoli, head of Tehran's Medical Emergency Organization, said two ambulance buses, four ambulances and two motorlances had been sent to the scene of the incident, adding Tehran's emergency workers were on a state of alert, according to the IRNA.

Speaking to the Iranian Students' News Agency, Ehsan Momeni, Tehran's deputy traffic police chief for operations, said traffic restrictions had been imposed in streets around the hospital.

According to the IRNA, the fire is gradually being contained.