President Klaus Iohannis: I am terrified to hear about the tragedy at Constanta Hospital

President Klaus Iohannis on Friday sent a message of condolences to the families of the victims of the fire that broke out at the Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Constanta and asked the PM and the Minister of Health to take all the necessary measures and "do everything in their power" to prevent any other accidents from ever happening in the hospitals in the country.

"I am terrified to hear about the tragedy that occurred this morning at the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Constanta. It's a terrible tragedy that confirms that the Romanian healthcare system has a deficient infrastructure, an old one, which is under an imaginable pressure under the 4th wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. I send my condolences to the mourning families and wish them to be strong during such very painful moments. I also wish fast recovery to all patients and the medical personnel who suffered from the fire. It is impossible to imagine the suffering of all these people who came to hospital hoping that they will be cured," said the head of state, in a press release of the Presidential Administration sent to AGERPRES.

Klaus Iohannis said that "unfortunately, the Romanian state failed in its fundamental mission of protecting its citizens."

"This is a dark day, of mourning, for the Romanian people. Regardless of the conclusion of the investigation into the cases of the fire, those who lost their lives today aren't coming back and they will leave a huge empty space behind them," said the head of state.

He also urged PM Florin City and the interim Minister of Health, Cseke Attila, to take all the necessary measures and "do everything in their power" to prevent another accident of the same kind from ever happening again in the hospitals in the country.