ISTANBUL — A fire has broken out at a hospital in Istanbul, forcing the evacuation of patients.

Television footage in Turkey on Thursday showed flames engulfing a facade of the Taksim Ilk Yardim hospital in the city’s Gaziosmanpasa district.

Thick black smoke rose toward the sky as firetrucks and ambulances arrived at the scene.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries.</s>A patient is carried to an ambulance after a fire broke out at a hospital in Istanbul, Turkey 5 April 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Osman Orsal

ISTANBUL - A fire at a hospital in Istanbul on Thursday rapidly engulfed the building's exterior cladding, but officials said it had not spread inside and there were no reports of casualties.

Television footage appeared to show the fire starting on the roof of the Gaziosmanpasa Taksim Educational and Research Hospital before flames quickly swept down one side of the building. Black smoke could be seen from several miles away.

"The fire has been partly brought under control. In terms of casualties, there are none so far," Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin told CNN Turk, adding that 70 patients were evacuated.

"There is no fire inside the building," he said. "The fire erupted on the exterior of the building, but there is of course smoke inside."

Fire chief Ali Karahan said that doctors in the hospital's intensive care units had continued to work through the incident, helped by fire crews. Thirty-five fire trucks and 120 firefighters attended the blaze, he said.</s>ISTANBUL -- A fire has broken out at a hospital in Istanbul, forcing the evacuation of patients. Television footage in Turkey on Thursday showed flames engulfing a facade of the Taksim Ilk Yardim hospital in the city's Gaziosmanpasa district.

Thick black smoke rose toward the sky as firetrucks and ambulances arrived at the scene.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries.

This is a developing story and will be updated.</s>(CNN) All patients have been moved to nearby hospitals after a fire broke out at a hospital in Istanbul, Turkey's state-run media Anadolu reported Thursday evening, citing Turkey's Minister for Health.

Firefighters continued to tackle the blaze several hours after the fire started on the roof of the Taksim Training and Research Hospital in Gaziosmanpasa, a district in the northern part of the city. About 70 patients were evacuated.

Hasan Tahsin Usta, mayor of Gaziosmanpasa, said that the fire, which spread down the outside of the building, was almost under control and no casualties had been reported, according to Anadolu.

Footage posted to social media showed flames on the hospital facade.

Yangın büyük ölçüde söndürüldü. pic.twitter.com/zSrTKtSQoj — Önder Çelik (@ondercelik36) April 5, 2018

Speaking to CNN Turk, Bahriye (who did not give her last name) said she was with her mother, a patient in the hospital, on the second floor when the fire broke out.

Read More</s>ISTANBUL (AP) — A fire has broken out at a hospital in Istanbul, forcing the evacuation of patients.

Television footage in Turkey on Thursday showed flames engulfing a facade of the Taksim Ilk Yardim hospital in the city’s Gaziosmanpasa district.

Thick black smoke rose toward the sky as firetrucks and ambulances arrived at the scene.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries.</s>Firefighters continued to tackle the blaze several hours after the fire started on the roof of the Taksim Training and Research Hospital in Gaziosmanpasa, a district in the northern part of the Turkish city.

Speaking to CNN Turk Thursday afternoon, mayor of Gaziosmanpasa, Hasan Tahsin Usta, said that the fire, which spread down the outside of the building, was almost under control and no casualties had been reported.

Footage posted to social media showed fire blazing on the hospital facade.

Speaking to CNN Turk, Bahriye (who did not give her last name) said she was with her mother, a patient in the hospital, on the second floor when the fire broke out.

"I just heard many noises, people were screaming and yelling," she said. "There was no fire alarm, just people screaming. I opened the door, it was all smoke. You couldn't see anyone, all of a sudden smoke came inside our room.... Flames were outside the window -- that's why we were so scared." She said she called for help and someone came and carried her mother, who could not get up unaided, out of the hospital. "It was so dark and I went after them but I don't know how I got downstairs," Bahriye said. She lost her mother in the process. "I still don't know where my mom is," she said. The fire broke out on the roof of Taksim Training and Research Hospital in northern Istanbul. Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin confirmed that all patients who could be moved had been evacuated and intensive care patients were being held in a safe location inside the hospital. "Those whose evacuation could be risky are under the supervision of doctors in a safe area with the firefighters," Sahin said, speaking to reporters at the scene. "When and if doctors say it is okay to take them out, then they will be, but for now they are being kept in a safe area." Firefighters from several districts of Istanbul responded to the emergency and worked with medical teams to bring patients to safety, according to Turkish state news agency Anadolu. Sahin said that the fire had been confined to the outside of the hospital and that the evacuations had been carried out due to smoke entering the building. Around 70 evacuated patients were taken by ambulance to private and public hospitals in the area, according to Sahin. He said the cause of the fire was not yet known and that several prosecutors had already been tasked with investigating the blaze. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was informed about the fire by Minister for Health Ahmet Demircan, Anadolu reported.</s>ISTANBUL — All patients have been moved to nearby hospitals after a fire broke out at a hospital in Istanbul, Turkey’s state-run media Anadolu reported Thursday evening, citing Turkey’s Minister for Health.

Firefighters continued to tackle the blaze several hours after the fire started on the roof of the Taksim Training and Research Hospital in Gaziosmanpasa, a district in the northern part of the city. About 70 patients were evacuated.

Hasan Tahsin Usta, mayor of Gaziosmanpasa, said that the fire, which spread down the outside of the building, was almost under control and no casualties had been reported, according to Anadolu.

Footage posted to social media showed flames on the hospital facade.

Speaking to CNN Turk, Bahriye (who did not give her last name) said she was with her mother, a patient in the hospital, on the second floor when the fire broke out.

“I just heard many noises, people were screaming and yelling,” she said. “There was no fire alarm, just people screaming. I opened the door, it was all smoke. You couldn’t see anyone, all of a sudden smoke came inside our room … Flames were outside the window — that’s why we were so scared.”

She said she called for help and someone came and carried her mother, who could not get up unaided, out of the hospital.

“It was so dark and I went after them but I don’t know how I got downstairs,” Bahriye said. She lost her mother in the process. “I still don’t know where my mom is,” she said.

At first response, patients who could be moved had been evacuated and intensive care patients were being held in a safe location inside the hospital, Istanbul Gov. Vasip Sahin told reporters.

As night fell, Minister for Health Ahmet Demircan said all patients had been moved to nearby hospitals by ambulance, according to Anadolu.

Firefighters from several districts of Istanbul responded to the emergency and worked with medical teams to bring patients to safety while hospital staff worked to salvage medical equipment as the evening progressed.

Sahin said that the fire had been confined to the outside of the hospital and that the evacuations had been carried out due to smoke entering the building.

The patients were taken by ambulance to private and public hospitals in the area, according to Sahin. He said the cause of the fire was not yet known and that several prosecutors had already been tasked with investigating the blaze

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was informed by the minister for health, Anadolu reported.</s>Firemen try to extinguish a fire at a hospital in Istanbul April 5, 2018. — Reuters picISTANBUL, April 5 — A major fire today broke out at a hospital in Istanbul, with patients urgently evacuated into the street and firefighters battling to control the blaze.

Television pictures showed flames and black smoke engulfing the multi-storey hospital building in the Gaziosmanpasa district of Istanbul, with patients wheeled out into the street in their sick beds.

The huge fire, which started in the roof, turned the side of the building into a burned-out shell and sent a massive cloud of black smoke into the evening sky visible from all over the city.

Speaking at the scene, Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin said the fire services had managed to bring the blaze partly under control.

Echoing comments by other officials, he said there were no current reports of casualties. “So far there is no sad news. God willing, it will stay that way,” he told the crowds outside in comments broadcast by television.

He said that the fire had been on the outer part of the building—rather than the inside—but a “lot of smoke” had penetrated inside which emergency services were now seeking to expel.

Pictures showed scenes of panic as staff and patients flooded into the streets to escape the fumes.

Health Minister Ahmet Demircan, who was rushing to the scene Istanbul, has informed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of developments, Turkish television said.

Gaziosmanpasa mayor Hasan Tahsin Usta told CNN-Turk television there were no reports at the moment of casualties. — AFP</s>ISTANBUL (AP) - A fire broke out at a multi-story hospital in Istanbul on Thursday, forcing the evacuation of patients.

There were no immediate reports of any deaths or serious injuries, although several people were affected by smoke.

"Until now, we have not had any bad news concerning deaths," Istanbul's governor, Vasip Sahin, said. "God willing it will remain that way."

Television footage in Turkey showed flames engulfing a facade of the Taksim Ilk Yardim hospital in the city's Gaziosmanpasa district.

Thick black smoke rose toward the sky as firetrucks and ambulances arrived at the scene.

Sahin said the fire raged on the building's roof and facade but not inside the hospital. However, smoke filled the inside of the building, he said.

He said it was too soon to determine what had caused the fire.

Media reports said some patients were transported to other hospitals.</s>Patients, some wearing oxygen masks, were wheeled out into the street in their sick beds while mothers were forced to leave clutching young babies.

Firefighters used elevation lifts to try to extinguish the fire at the top of the multi-storey hospital building in the Gaziosmanpasa district of Istanbul.

However local officials said there were so far no reports of casualties although some patients may have been affected by the smoke.

Speaking at the scene, Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin said the fire services had managed to bring the blaze partly under control.

Echoing comments by other officials, he said there were no current reports of casualties. “So far there is no sad news. God willing, it will stay that way,” he told the crowds outside in comments broadcast by television.

Witnesses told Turkish television that the flames spread rapidly around the side of the building.

“The fire was knocking against the windows. It was terrifying,” one woman told CNN-Turk, without giving her name.

AFP / OZAN KOSE Patients were evacuated as flames crept around the outside of the bulding with some intensive care cases being transferred to neighbouring hospitals Sahin later told reporters said that the fire had been on the outer part of the building — rather than the inside — but a “lot of smoke” had penetrated inside which emergency services were now seeking to expel. He added that some 70 patients had been evacuated outside and those in intensive care moved to a secure place inside the hospital that was not affected.

There was no immediate information on the cause of the blaze but Sahin said that two prosecutors had already been tasked to investigate.

“As soon as it is under control… we will establish the cause,” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told a news conference, adding that 32 intensive care patients had been moved to nearby hospitals.

Pictures showed scenes of panic as staff and patients flooded into the street to escape the fumes.

Health Minister Ahmet Demircan, who was rushing to the scene Istanbul, has informed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of developments, Turkish television said. —AFP
A fire breaks out on the roof of a hospital in Gaziosmanpasa, Istanbul, and spreads down the outside to ground level. Minister of Health Ahmet Demircan say all patients have been evacuated and transferred to hospitals elsewhere by ambulances.