By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
HAMBURG, GERMANY (Worthy News) – Germany was mourning Friday four people who died after a fire broke out at a hospital near the northern city of Hamburg, with patients pleading for help and fears the death toll could rise.
Emergency workers saw flames on the fourth floor of a wing of the building in Uelzen, southeast of Hamburg when they arrived at the scene late Thursday evening.
Amid cries for help, emergency personnel evacuated several people and were able to stop the fire from spreading any further, officials said.
Police said that three patients died at the scene and a fourth after being taken to another hospital.
It wasn’t immediately what caused the fire at a time when the nation was still celebrating the New Year. All who died were patients, German media reported.
Around 20 people were said to be injured, and police warned that “the number of dead could rise given the seriousness of some injuries.”
Witnesses saw some 140 firefighters and rescue workers, including some from neighboring districts, fighting to contain the enormous blaze.
People were rescued from the clinic, some using ladders, witnesses explained.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the reason for the fire, estimated to have caused more than 1 million euros ($1.1 million) in damages.
Hospital fires are rare in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, which has strict safety rules.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
A Dutch community remained in shock Saturday after a 13-year-old girl was detained following the discovery of her parents’ bodies in their home in the northern Netherlands.
Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a 90-day state of emergency Saturday, empowering the military to clear road blockades after nearly 50 days of anti-government protests that have included widespread road blockades, leaving at least 14 people dead and crippling the nation’s economy.
A powerful thunderstorm system sweeping across Western Europe killed at least one person in the Netherlands, injured several others in Belgium and Germany, and caused widespread damage as nearly 190,000 lightning flashes illuminated the skies, authorities said Saturday.
Israeli strikes killed at least 10 people in Lebanon on Saturday despite a ceasefire that took effect hours earlier, officials said, with Israel claiming it was responding to attacks by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire that was to begin Friday afternoon, Worthy News learned.
At least 10 people, including four children, were injured in a Russian strike on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, Ukrainian authorities said Friday. In southern Ukraine, the State Emergency Service reported that one person was killed and four others were injured in a separate Russian attack on the Odesa region.
President Donald Trump signed the temporary peace deal with Iran ahead of schedule Wednesday at the Palace of Versailles in France, kicking off negotiations over a final nuclear deal.