UPDATE - Fire at COVID hospital in North Macedonia kills 10

ADDS FURTHER DETAİLS

By Furkan Abdula and Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - At least 10 people are dead and many others injured after a fire broke out in the North Macedonian town of Tetovo at a makeshift hospital for COVID-19 patients, the country's health minister said Wednesday.

"Ten people have been confirmed dead in the blaze so far, but the number could rise. This is a very sad day," Venko Filipce said on Twitter.

Health Ministry officials said injured medical staff and patients along with over evacuees were being transferred to hospitals in the capital Skopje.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said in a Facebook post that a huge tragedy occurred in Tetovo.

''The cause of the fire will be determined. The authorities are already on the ground. This is a truly tragic event, and I can assure you that the entire state leadership is committed to resolving this situation quickly. A crisis headquarters in the municipality of Tetova is being developed,'' said Zaev.

More than 30 firefighters took part in extinguishing the fire. The deputy commander of the Tetovo fire brigade, Saso Trajcevski, said there were victims but that the exact number is not known yet.

"At 9:22 pm, a fire was reported in the hospital. Teams arrived in minutes, seven vehicles and 30 firefighters. Everything was on fire. At 9:30 p.m., we managed to localize the fire. The flames were rising high. The hospital was all made of plastic. We don't know the number of victims,” said Trajcevski.

The mayor of Tetovo, Teuta Arifi, rushed to the scene.

"The fire broke out rapidly, but data from the hospital and the police on possible victims is still pending," she said.

"I am just sorry. There were sick people there who were in treatment," Arifi told reporters.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Mustafa Sentop, the speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, expressed his condolences on social media.

''I wish mercy to the deceased and a speedy recovery to the injured,'' he said.