At least nine patients perished on Tuesday as a blaze engulfed a hospital in the northern Iranian city of Rasht, according to state media. The inferno at Ghaem Hospital commenced at 1:30 am (2200 GMT Monday), as reported by state broadcaster IRIB, which also noted that the flames were extinguished and investigations were underway to ascertain the cause. Mohammad Taghi Ashobi, the head of Gilan University of Medical Sciences in Rasht, conveyed on state television that 'nine individuals succumbed to this fire incident,' and added that 'the majority of the deceased were in the intensive care unit.' Reports indicate that the hospital, with a capacity of 250 beds, had 142 beds occupied during the fire. This tragedy follows a significant fire in November 2023 at a drug rehabilitation center in Langarud city, Gilan province, which claimed 32 lives. Additionally, in June 2020, an explosion triggered by ignited gas canisters at a clinic in northern Tehran resulted in 19 fatalities.