T

he administrative and finance offices of Wahidin Sudirohusodo General Hospital in Makassar were engulfed by fire early on Saturday.

Located on the fifth floor of the Private Care Center (PCC) building, the fire reportedly started just 15 minutes after midnight local time on Saturday, or 11:15 p.m. Jakarta time on Friday.

Hospital workers evacuated 70 patients from the five-story building to other buildings in the hospital compound, while other patients went home. One witnesses, a security guard identified as Michael, said that thick smoke suddenly emerged from the fifth floor.

Michael said that thick smoke prevented him and other security guards from entering to put down the fire. The guards then called the local fire department and evacuated the patients, he said. Firefighters extinguished the blaze around 1:30 a.m. local time.

Hospital director Abdul Kadir said on Saturday that the fire was likely triggered by a short circuit, as no electronic appliances were active at the time.

The PCC service resumed operation on Saturday, except for the fifth floor, which remained cordoned off. Most patients have been returned to the VVIP treatment center.