A patient undergoing surgery died in a hospital fire after medics left the anesthetized the 49-year-old on the operating table while they fled the blaze, Xinmin Evening News reported Thursday

The fire broke out on the night of August 24 at No 3 People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine while the patient was under general anesthetic to remove a limb due to injuries suffered in a traffic accident.

The hospital's publicity department said there were at least six medical personnel in the patient's operating room when the fire broke out, but all left when a neighboring room burst into flames. Medics left the patient alone on the operating table. It is thought they died from smoke inhalation. The staff are being questioned by police.