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East Surrey hospital fire: Ambulances and building catch light after series of 'loud bangs' | East Surrey hospital fire: Ambulances and building catch light after series of 'loud bangs' |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A fire at East Surrey Hospital, which broke out following a series of "loud bangs", has destroyed three ambulances. | |
Part of the hospital was also caught in the blaze, which was extinguished by emergency services. | |
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust chief executive Michael Wilson said: “We are really pleased nobody has been hurt and nobody has been injured. I would like to commend our staff for their very, very quick reactions. You can see the devastation behind us. | |
"One ambulance caught fire and then exploded and then the other two ambulances caught fire. | |
“The emergency services were on the scene pretty quickly and I would like to give my thanks to the police and fire brigade and ambulance services who responded within minutes to bring this whole thing under control." | |
Four fire engines brought the blaze under control, and police cars and additional ambulances were also present. | |
Unconfirmed social media reports suggest that an ambulance containing gas canisters caught fire, and that these canisters subsequently exploded. | Unconfirmed social media reports suggest that an ambulance containing gas canisters caught fire, and that these canisters subsequently exploded. |
Video posted on social media appears to show further explosions occuring once the emergency services had already arrived to tackle the initial fire. | Video posted on social media appears to show further explosions occuring once the emergency services had already arrived to tackle the initial fire. |
The hospital is closed to further emergencies until further notice, and ambulances are being diverted to other neighbouring hospitals. |