Turkish Hospital Fire Kills 8

Eight intensive care patients have died after a fire at a hospital in the northwestern Turkish city of Bursa.

Medical staff race to evacuate patients after fire broke out at the Sevket Yilmaz state hospital in the Turkish city of Bursa.

An electrical fault in the hospital's scanner department sparked a small blaze, which authorities said was swiftly contained.

One man described the panic that erupted as smoke filled part of the building.

SOUNDBITE (Turkish) UNIDENTIFIED MAN SAYING:

"At first there was a little smoke. I was trying to figure out where it was coming from and then I yelled and warned other people. People started to panic and I tried to calm them down; I tried to break the window of the bathroom with a chair."

Smoke spread to intensive care, where 16 critically ill people were being treated.

Authorities say that 8 patients died, despite staff's frantic efforts to save them.

At this stage, it's too early to determine whether the victims died of smoke inhalation or because power to their life-support systems was cut during the fire.

An investigation is underway.

Helen Long, Reuters