The cause of a fire that gutted a Covid-19 ward and killed two patients at FH Odendaal Hospital in Limpopo on Tuesday is yet to be established.
Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba said on Wednesday: “The report we received says the cause of the fire was not an electrical fault. We could not find what started it but we know it started in a corner of the ward.
“Luckily they were able to contain it and it ended in one ward. It’s unfortunate that two people died. One of them is from Marapyane in Mpumalanga. She was an elderly woman. Other patients were rescued,” said Ramathuba.
The MEC praised nurses for responding swiftly to the blaze.
“With the assistance of other nurses from nearby wards, they acted swiftly and managed to evacuate all patients,” she said in a statement posted on the department’s Facebook page.