A massive fire has broken out at Gandhi Hospital in Tehran, spreading to multiple floors of a facility billed as Iran’s largest private medical center.
The blaze began on Thursday evening, and crews from multiple fire stations were immediately dispatched to the scene, according to state-run press service IRNA. Emergency responders were able to bring the fire under control, the report added, though it hadn’t been completely extinguished as of 8pm local time, about an hour after it started. Tehran Fire Department spokesman Jalal Malaki offered no details on possible causes of the blaze.
A Gandhi Hospital official told IRNA that the east side of the hospital had caught fire, and the building was evacuated. Preliminary reports have indicated that no patients were injured.
Video footage of the incident posted online shows the fire apparently raging on at least ten floors of the hospital. Another clip shows multiple emergency vehicles with their lights flashing on the street below.
The 17-story hospital complex is located in a medical district east of central Tehran. It was built in 2008 with the goals of providing world-class medical services and attracting “health tourists.” It offers 100 hotel suites to accommodate the companions of its patients.