Balıklı Rum Hospital in Istanbul’s Zeytinburnu district caught fire on Thursday. Firefighting crews rushed to the scene from all around the city while patients, mostly elderly citizens, were carried outside on stretchers and wheelchairs. No casualties were reported.
Istanbul's governorate announced that some 80 patients were transferred to other hospitals. The cause of the fire is unknown, though flames engulfed the entire roof of the hospital. Zeytinburnu Mayor Ömer Arısoy told reporters that the fire broke out in the afternoon in a section of the hospital used as a care home for the elderly. He said the blaze erupted on the roof and crews managed to evacuate the residents in time. The fire was brought under control in a few hours, and firefighters were working to cool off the burned sections of the building.
The hospital is among three in Istanbul owned by Turkey’s Greek community. Originally founded as a “plague hospital” back in Ottoman times, the hospital was reconstructed after a major fire devastated it in 1790. The hospital was restored in the 1990s and currently serves up to 55,000 patients every year.
