Doctors perform open heart surgery as hospital burns

Russian doctors stayed behind in a burning hospital on Friday (April 2) to complete open heart surgery as a large fire broke out on the roof moments after they began operating on the patient. Emer McCarthy reports.
Plumes of smoke rose from a hospital in eastern Russia on Friday (April 2) as doctors stayed behind to complete open heart surgery.

The Russian Ministry of Emergencies said that all medical staff and patients were evacuated from Amur State Medical Academy’s cardiology center.

A group of eight doctors and nurses stayed in a surgery room to complete the operation.

A picture from the operating theater was shared by Amur Region’s governor’s Instagram account.

According to the ministry, a special vehicle was used to provide power as the electricity supply in the building was cut.

No deaths or injuries were reported, and extinguishing the fire took more than two hours.

The ministry says that the cause of the fire is yet to be determined, but could have been caused by faulty wiring in the two-storey hospital building, which dates back to 1907.

Despite the blaze, the surgery was completed successfully and the patient was safely transferred to a different hospital, according to local officials.

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