Germany hospital fire started by patient's self-immolation
Posted October 04, 2016 7:00 am
BERLIN (AP) - Prosecutors say a fire at a hospital in western Germany last week in which two people died was caused by a patient pouring disinfectant over herself and setting it alight in an attempt to kill herself.
The fire broke out in the 69-year-old woman's 6th-floor room at the Bergmannsheil hospital in Bochum in the early hours of Friday. She died in the blaze, along with a bedridden 41-year-old man in a neighboring room.
Prosecutors and police said in a statement Tuesday that they are still investigating what prompted the woman to try to kill herself. The fire quickly spread to the building's roof, and 10 people were injured, seven of them seriously.
None of the injured were still in life-threatening condition on Tuesday.
FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2016 file photo, firefighters are busy extinguishing a blaze on the roof of the Bergmannsheil hospital in Bochum, western Germany. Prosecutors said on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016 that the fire at the hospital, in which two people died, was caused by a patient pouring disinfectant over herself and setting it alight in an attempt to kill herself. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
The Associated Press
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