3 patients are killed in a fire that broke out at a hospital in the German city of Hamburg

BERLIN AP Three older patients were killed and various people were injured in a fire that broke out overnight at a hospital in the German city of Hamburg functionaries declared Sunday Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the hospital the Marienkrankenhaus shortly after midnight It broke out in a room in the geriatric ward on the ground floor of the building and spread to the facade of the floor above Smoke spread across the building s four floors German news agency dpa disclosed It wasn t right away clear what caused the fire and police declared results of the assessment weren t expected on Sunday The three people who died were men aged and police mentioned in a announcement Another people were injured one of whom was in a life-threatening condition A section of the hospital had to be evacuated Injured patients were treated mostly at the hospital itself though two were taken to nearby clinics The fire was extinguished within about minutes Firefighters announced they identified several patients at the windows calling for help People were rescued using ladders and through the building itself Source