3 killed in separate Istanbul fires

Three people were killed in two fires that broke out in Istanbul, the Istanbul governor’s office said in a statement.

The first blaze took place at the surgical bloc of the Sultan Abdulhamit Han Training and Research Hospital at 2:50 a.m. local time (2350 GMT) in the Uskudar district on Istanbul’s Asian side, according to the statement early Friday morning.

One patient in intensive care was killed, while 109 patients were evacuated to nearby hospitals, it said, adding that four medical and six firefighting personnel were also injured while fighting the blaze, Xinhua news agency reported.

Another fire broke out at a seven-storey hotel at 7.30 a.m. local time in the Pendik district on the city’s Asian side. Two people were killed, and two others were injured in the fire, according to the statement.