KIEV: A fire caused by a gas pipeline explosion on Saturday killed one coronavirus patient and injured another at a hospital in Ukraine, the second such tragedy in a month, officials said. Deadly fires are not uncommon in the ex-Soviet nation due to poor compliance with safety regulations and ageing infrastructure.

The fire was caused by a blast in a ward on the first floor of a five-storey hospital in the southwestern city of Chernivtsi, emergency services said.