3 Patients Die in Hospital Fire

A fire at a large hospital in Hamburg that began in a unit for the elderly killed at least three patients and injured more than 50 people, German authorities said Sunday. The fire department said at least two of the people hurt at Marien Hospital were in critical condition, the New York Times reports. Officials said that the cause of the fire was not known, but that a 72-year-old male patient was taken into custody. His mental condition was being assessed, per Deutsche Welle.

The blaze broke out in a ground-floor ward with many patients who are older or whose mobility is impaired, fire officials said. The patients who died were 84, 85, and 87, per the AP. People unable to evacuate from the upper floors called for help from windows as heavy smoke rose, and firefighters conducted evacuations by ladder, per the Times. Police said interviews of witnesses suggested the 72-year-old may have started the fire, and he was held on suspicion of arson. He's to appear in court on Monday. (More Hamburg stories.)