A patient has died and two paramedics are injured after an ambulance exploded outside an Irish hospital.
The man killed in the blast was in his 70s and was pronounced dead at the scene at Naas general hospital in County Kildare.
Local reports said one of the ambulance crew suffered severe burns to the head, face, torso and limbs. He has been transferred to the special burns unit at St James’s hospital in Dublin.
A second ambulance crew member suffered minor injuries as well as the effects of smoke inhalation.
The incident happened at about 2pm on Thursday at the entrance to the hospital’s A&E department. Ireland’s Health Service Executive issued a statement on Thursday afternoon confirming the incident.
It said the A&E department was temporarily closed although there was no mass evacuation of the hospital.
A witness told the Journal: “The ambulance went up very fast. There were lots of bangs and explosions. I hope there wasn’t anyone hurt.”
