Breaking: Critically ill patients on ventilators are evacuated from downtown LA hospital after power outage plunged entire ICU and emergency rooms into darkness
Breaking: Critically ill patients on ventilators are evacuated from downtown LA hospital after power outage plunges entire ICU and emergency rooms into darkness
- This is a breaking news story. More to follow…
Critically ill patients are evacuated from a downtown LA hospital after a sudden power outage plunged the facility into darkness, as reports claimed backup generators were also shut down.
The power outage at White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles occurred just before 1 a.m. Tuesday morning and affected the Special Care Center, including the ICU and emergency rooms.
Emergency responders rushed to evacuate the patients from the facility, citing those on ventilators as top priorities requiring immediate relocation.
It was determined that about 11 patients had to be moved first, and many of them required ventilators.
Crews were forced to carry patients down the stairs after the power outage also resulted in elevators not working. Power in other buildings on the White Memorial campus would function.
Patients at White Memorial Hospital (pictured) in Los Angeles were left in the dark just before 1 a.m. Tuesday morning
About twenty ambulances were on their way to help remove sixty geriatric patients from the hospital and to other facilities.
About 240 patients were hospitalized at the time of the power outage.
The LA Fire Department said they were assisting with the evacuation and working with hospital staff to identify priority patients. About 200 firefighters were on their way to the hospital.
Some people were reportedly trapped in the elevators as the entire building was without power.
A spokesperson for the LAFD said: ‘Due to the power outage, firefighters are having to physically transport patients from the upper floors to the waiting ambulances.
The department confirmed that there was an initial focus on 11 patients.
The cause of the power outage is not yet known and whether the emergency incident was related to Tropical Storm Hilary, the violent weather that wreaked havoc in the region on Monday.
A video on TikTok appeared to show the inside of the hospital after it plunged into darkness.
About 20 ambulances are on their way to help remove 60 geriatric patients from the hospital (file image of a California ambulance)
This is a breaking news story. More to follow…