Germany: Fire at Hamburg hospital kills 3, injures over 50

Hamburg: At least three people were killed in a fire that broke out at a hospital in the northern German city of Hamburg.

More than 50 people were injured, 16 of them seriously. At least one person was in a life-threatening condition.

The fire started shortly after midnight in one of the buildings of the Marien Hospital in the city's Hohenfeide neighbourhood.

Heavy smoke then engulfed all floors of the building, a fire department spokesperson said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, which broke out in a room in the department for geriatric care on the building's ground floor. 

A large contingent of emergency service personnel was deployed to control the fire and bring those in the hospital to safety.

In the early hours of Sunday, authorities reported that the fire had been extinguished. 

Patients who were in the affected building have been evacuated, officials said.

Some of the injured patients were being treated in the hospital's emergency department, while others were taken to nearby hospitals.