Three killed in St Lucian hospital fire

A fire swept through the St. Jude\'s Hospital in St. Lucia killing three persons and injuring an unknown number early this morning, according to a report by Ernie Seon on www.cananews.net.



Prime Minister Stephenson King is promising to rebuild the hospital \"within the shortest period of time\".



The charred remains of two persons had been found in the burnt out building in the southern town of Vieux Fort, while a third person died on the way to the Victoria Hospital in the capital, Castries. Their identities have not been released.



Fire officials said that patients were evacuated to the nearby campus of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College which has now been transformed into a make shift hospital.



Prime Minister King, accompanied by his Health Minister Dr. Keith Mondesir and the National Security Minister Guy Mayers, travelled to Vieux Fort and met with hospital officials.



\"Clearly it is far too early to say much about the destruction that has taken place here regretfully, but all hands are on deck and we intend to do all in our power to get the hospital rebuilt and back in operation within the shortest period of time. I have had dialogue with members of the management at the scene of the fire and they have given me a situation analysis…,\" King stated.



Security guards said the fire spread quickly after they noticed an air condition unit ablaze at the hospital which is managed by the United States-based Mercy Hospital Medical Centre.



The hospital, which employs about 200 local staff, including 14 full-time physicians, provides high-quality primary care for persons mainly in the south of the island.