1st LD: 25 killed in Saudi Arabia's hospital fire

Twenty-five people were killed and 107 others injured in a fire that ripped through a hospital in south Saudi Arabia early Thursday morning, said the country's civil defense.

The fire occurred in the intensive care unit and the maternity ward on the first floor of the Jazan General Hospital, a civil defense spokesman of Jazan district said.

Yahya al-Qahtany said his agency was alerted of the fire at 2:10 a.m. (2310 GMT Wednesday), and immediately sent 21 teams, including fire brigades, security forces, rescue and medical teams, to the scene.

The blaze has been put under control and the injured were transferred to private and public hospitals in the district, he said. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Endi