BREAKING: Critically ill patients on ventilators are being evacuated from downtown LA hospital after a power outage plunged the entire ICU and emergency rooms into darkness
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Critically ill patients are evacuated from a downtown LA hospital after a sudden power outage plunged the facility into darkness and also reportedly shut down backup generators.
The power outage at White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles happened just before 1 a.m. Tuesday morning and impacted the Special Care Center, including the ICU and emergency rooms.
Ambulance workers rushed to evacuate the patients from the facility, with ventilators being prioritized as a top priority and requiring immediate relocation.
About 11 patients were found to need transport first, many of whom required ventilators.
Crews were forced to carry patients down the stairs after the power outage also caused the elevators to stop working. The electricity in other buildings on the White Memorial campus should work.
Patients at White Memorial Hospital (pictured) in Los Angeles were left in the dark just before 1am on Tuesday morning
About 20 ambulances were en route to the scene of the accident to help transport 60 geriatric patients from the hospital and other facilities.
Around 240 patients were in the hospital at the time of the blackout.
The LA Fire Department said they are helping with the evacuation and are working with hospital staff to identify priority patients. Around 200 firefighters were on their way to the hospital.
Some people were reportedly stuck in elevators as the entire building was left without power.
A spokesman for LAFD said: “Due to the power outage, firefighters are having to physically transport patients from the upper floors to the ambulances waiting there.”
The department confirmed that 11 patients were initially the focus.
The cause of the power outage is not yet known, and it is not yet known if the emergency incident is related to Tropical Storm Hilary, the torrential weather that wreaked havoc across the region on Monday.
A video posted on TikTok appeared to show the inside of the hospital after it was plunged into darkness.
About 20 ambulances are en route to the scene to assist in the evacuation of 60 geriatric patients from the hospital (California Ambulance File Photo)
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