A Chinese man has died after he blew up the hospital ward he was on when he decided to smoke a cigarette while undergoing treatment in a high-pressure oxygen chamber.
Liu Hung, 65 was put inside the hyperbaric chamber at the Nanxiong People’s Hospital in Nanxiong city in south-eastern China’s Guangdong province to help a head wound heal more quickly.
It is thought that while the doors of the chamber were closed, he saw the opportunity to grab a quick cigarette, presumably thinking that nobody would see him.
The remains of the high-pressure hyperbaric oxygen chamber, which was destroyed when Liu Hung decided to smoke a cigarette while receiving treatment inside [Photo Credit: Daily Mail]
But it is believed that the cigarette then set fire to the bed linen, which quickly turned into an inferno when it reacted with the oxygen rich atmosphere inside the small chamber.
It caused an explosion which destroyed the chamber and killed Mr Hung in the fireball.
Health and safety experts together with firemen who investigated the explosion said that the man’s body had been completely charred and that they found a melted lighter, which they believed caused the explosion.
But Mr Hung’s family are now demanding to know why his lighter wasn’t taken away.
Mr Hung’s son said: ‘My father’s whole body was scorched, he looked just like a roasted pig.
‘It was the worst thing I have ever seen and was absolutely unbearable.’
The hospital has admitted responsibility in not warning its patient that smoking or taking a lighter into the chamber could be dangerous and are in negotiations with his family over compensation.
Hospital spokesman Yong Wan said: ‘Mr Liu had already undergone one treatment which had worked well.
‘We assume he had probably decided that during the second treatment he would try to sneak a cigarette where he couldn’t be seen, as smoking in the hospital was not allowed.’
Treatment in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber is believed to help the healing of wounds by helping the red blood cells to carry more oxygen which speeds up the healing process.
