[PHOTOS] Six Patients Killed After Fire Breaks Out In ICU Ward Of Sultanah Aminah Hospital

The fire apparently started at the second floor of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital.

Johor Baru Selatan district police chief assistant commissioner Sulaiman Salleh said that the six deceased patients, including four women and two men have been removed from the site and are accounted for as victims of the fire.

"They were believed to be trapped in the building," he said to reporters on the scene, as reported by NST today, 25 October.

According to him, one patient was rescued by the firefighters who reached the scene at about 8:56am.

"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, as reported by Channel News Asia today.

He added that the fire did not spread to other parts of the hospital.

NST reported that the fire has mostly been controlled by about 11am, despite the fact that there is still thick smoke seeping out of the building windows.

The remaining 13 patients in the ICU unit had to be carried out of the building through staircases in the main building. Patients, including the ones in the maternity ward, which is located right beside the ICU have also been evacuated and gathered at the polyclinic compound and other parts of the hospital, away from the commotion.

The hospital staff were seen tending to the patients, while the nurses led a head count.