NEW TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan — An early morning fire raged through a hospital floor filled with elderly patients Monday morning in Taiwan’s largest city, killing at least nine people and injuring two dozen more.

The fire broke out around 4:30 a.m. in a room for patients with chronic or long-term illnesses at the government-run Taipei Hospital in New Taipei City. Within an hour, firefighters had extinguished the blaze. But nine people died, all of whom were patients.

Kolas Yotaka, a spokeswoman for Taiwan’s government, said the cause is being investigated.

There were 32 patients, 10 nurses, and eight other workers on the floor when the fire broke out, according to a fire department statement. The blaze forced officials to transfer 206 patients to other hospitals.

While the rescue efforts seemed to go smoothly, some officials raised concerns about how the fire was able to spread so quickly in such an environment.

Ko Wen-je, the mayor of Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, said he “finds it quite odd’’ that such a fire was capable of breaking out in the hospital, given that normal hospital design should prevent such blazes. Ko is also a surgeon.

In July 2016, a fire in a retirement home in New Taipei’s Xindian district killed six people and injured 28.

New York Times