Istanbul [Turkey], March 1: Authorities in Istanbul have begun evacuating two city hospitals due to structural damage and decreased safety caused by the recent massive earthquake.
Patients at the Kagithane state hospital would be moved to a hospital in the city district of Sisli, Turkish Health Minister FahrettinKoca said in Hatay on Tuesday.
The move will be completed in a few days, Koca said. Istanbul's Cerrahpasa University Hospital would also be evacuated, he added. The Cerrahpasa Hospital said the previous day that its buildings had been reinspected for safety following the devastating earthquake in south-east Turkey on February 6.
A large part of the hospital complex had not passed the inspection satisfactorily, so operations could not continue, hospital officials said. Among other facilities, 800 internal medicine and surgery beds, 32 operating theatres and intensive care and dialysis wards were affected. In total, 105,000 square metres of premises could no longer be used. The quake has claimed the lives of 44,218 people in Turkey alone, according to its disaster agency AFAD, while in neighbouring Syria, 5,900 deaths were reported so far. (dpa)
Source: Qatar Tribune