11 dead after Rio de Janeiro hospital fire

Sept. 13 (UPI) -- A fire at a Rio de Janeiro hospital left at least 11 people dead and dozens of patients lying on stretchers outside the facility overnight, emergency officials said Friday.

The fire broke out Thursday evening at Badim Hospital, a private facility in northern Rio de Janeiro. There were 103 patients at the hospital at the time of the blaze.

Brazil's O Globo news identified most of the dead as elderly -- in their 80s and 90s.

One witness told the news outlet her 77-year-old father was evacuated from the hospital without medical equipment he needed to survive. Firefighters entered the building to retrieve the device.

Investigators blamed the fire on a short-circuited generator.