Six ICU patients die in fire at Johor's Sultanah Aminah Hospital

Its director, Othman Abdullah, said they were among the seven patients in the southern ICU on the second floor of the hospital.

One patient was rescued by firefighters who rushed there after being notified at 8.56am, he added.

"There were seven critically ill patients in the ICU who, according to doctors, were dependent on ventilators under normal circumstances and could not be moved without their beds," he said.

Othman said the department rushed 10 trucks and 166 firefighters to the hospital soon after it was summoned.

He said the fire did not spread to other areas of the hospital.

Meanwhile, Johor Bahru Selatan Police chief ACP Sulaiman Salleh said five of the bodies were found at 11.15am and the sixth a little later.

He advised the public not to be taken in by unverified information.

Meanwhile an eyewitness, Habibah Abd Ghani, 37, said she was not aware of the fire and only realised it after she was out of the building.

"During the incident, I was in the fourth floor ward accompanying my father who is admitted for pain in the rib.

"Then I heard a commotion and was asked by the nurse to get out of the ward. The situation was under control when we go down the stairs, assisted by the hospital staff," she said when met by reporters here.

Habibah also saw many patients and hospital staff in and around the hospital at that time.

A Bernama survey at 12 noon revealed the hospital compound was still congested with many patients and staff remaining outside the hospital building.

Meanwhile, Sulaiman said during the incident 294 patients and 193 hospital staff were reported to be in the same building.

The four female patients and two male patients who died were among the seven patients in the ICU while a male patient was saved from the fire.

He said other patients had been evacuated temporarily to wards in other buildings.

Meanwhile, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the affected patients were being sent to another hospital near Johor Bahru, especially the Sultan Ismail Hospital.

The latest information and status on the incident would be notified from time to time, he said in a statement.