A fire broke out at Port Shepstone Provincial Hospital on Monday morning.
Spokesperson for the Department of Health Sam Mkhwanazi said the fire was in a new block of the hospital - which housed its paediatric, critical care and the intensive care wards.
“The fire has been contained,” Mkhwanazi said at lunch time. “There have been no casualties as a result of the fire or smoke”.
He said some patients had been evacuated.
“Patients from high care and intensive care are being transferred to hospitals in Durban by helicopter and a fixed wing aircraft,” Mkhwanazi said. “The department is doing its utmost to ensure that the provision of healthcare services for patients who need critical care continues.”
There was at the time of publishing no indication as to how the fire had started and Mkhwanazi was also unable to provide details regarding the extent of the damage.
The fire department and SAPS were on scene.