A Fire At A Field Hospital Set Up To Treat COVID-19 Patients Kills 14 People

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Police officers and forensics investigate the site at a makeshift hospital after a fire in North Macedonia’s northwestern city of Tetovo.

Visar Kryeziu/AP

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Visar Kryeziu/AP

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Tetovo Mayor Teuta Arifi declared three days of mourning for the victims.

The prosecutor’s office ordered forensic experts to identify the remains, with the process expected to take longer than usual due to special protocols required because the victims were COVID-19 patients.

About a dozen people were injured, though the exact figure wasn’t immediately available.

«We saw the explosion and when we came here everything was in flames, said local resident Nexhmedin Haliti. Firefighters arrived and started to put the fire out, it lasted for 15- 20 minutes. Everything burnt out.

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Police officers and forensics investigate the site at a burned out makeshift hospital after a fire in North Macedonia’s northwestern city of Tetovo.

Boris Grdanoski/AP

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Boris Grdanoski/AP

Police officers and forensics investigate the site at a burned out makeshift hospital after a fire in North Macedonia’s northwestern city of Tetovo.

Boris Grdanoski/AP

Five prosecutors, from Tetovo and Skopje, are working on the investigation into the causes of the fire. Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said in a Facebook post that the blaze followed an explosion at the site. It was unclear what caused the blast, but there was speculation that it was linked to oxygen supplies.

«We are shocked. It is a tragedy that I can’t even explain. Very sad, said local resident Idriz Brahimi. «Those were sick people who couldn’t get out. It is a huge catastrophe.

Health Ministry officials said the bodies of those who died were transferred to hospitals in the capital Skopje, about 45 kilometers (30 miles) to the east.

With less than 30% of the country’s roughly 2 million population fully vaccinated, North Macedonia has seen a significant spike in coronavirus infections and deaths since late August.