Second Ebola treatment center is set ablaze in eastern Congo, with 18 suspected cases fleeing

Angry residents of a town at the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo attacked and burned a tent that was part of a health center where people are being treated for the virus, the staff there said Saturday.

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A medical worker walks past the remains of an Ebola treatment center in Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Feb. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Al-hadji Kudra, File)

It was the second such attack in the region in a week.

No one was hurt in the attack, according to initial reports but as patients ran out to escape the fire, 18 people with suspected Ebola infections left the facility and are now unaccounted for, a local hospital director said.

The angry residents had arrived at the clinic in the town of Mongbwalu on Friday night and set fire to a tent set up for suspected and confirmed Ebola cases by the Doctors Without Borders humanitarian group, Dr. Richard Lokudi, director of the Mongbwalu hospital, told The Associated Press.

“We strongly condemn this act, as it caused panic among the staff and also resulted in the escape of 18 suspected cases into the community,” he said.