KOTA KINABALU: It was twin trouble here with a major hospital struggling with power outage while its namesake counterpart was having to deal with a burst water pipe.

       Problems began at 11.30pm on Tuesday at Queen Elizabeth Hospital 1 (QEH1) with staff having to depend on their mobile phone torchlights to get around. This following a power outage caused by an internal electrical fault.

       Social media pictures uploaded showed scenes of staff using their built-in torch lights as firemen came to help people who were stuck in the elevators.

       As for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital 2 (QEH2), a video shared on social media yesterday showed medical staff cleaning out water that was gushing from a ceiling of a basement car park.

       This was due to a burst water pipe at the car park yesterday morning.

       The situation was under control although the hospital stopped all elective surgeries for the day pending completion of repairs on the water pipe.

       Over at QEH1, its operating theatres remained temporarily closed for the second day yesterday as work continued to fix the electrical fault.

       Critical time: The Intensive Care Unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital 1 in Kota Kinabalu on temporary generator support during the power outage on Tuesday.

       According to officials, emergency cases including surgeries have been diverted to the QEH2 and the Women and Children Hospital in Likas here temporarily as technicians work to resolve the power problem.

       They have also postponed 28 elective surgeries for the two days at QEH1 as the current power was insufficient to support the required air-conditioning temperatures for the operating theatres.

       Following Tuesday’s power outage, the hospital operated on its generators but by 3.30pm, the generators also failed, triggering power failure across the hospital.

       Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) sent in two of its mobile generator units to restore power by 7.10pm but faults within the internal electrical cables of the hospital were suspected of triggering the power outage.

       Sabah Health Department director Datuk Dr Rose Nani Mudin said yesterday that repair works on the electrical cables were ongoing but could not say when they would be completed.

       In a statement, she said the hospital was running on its two generators that broke down before SESB sent in their mobile generator units.

       Dr Rose said power was fully restored in all its units including the intensive care unit by 8pm on Tuesday though emergency cases needing critical services were transferred to QEH2.

       She said that there was minimal disruption to services and assured the public measures were being taken to help restore the power supply.

       As for the burst pipe at QEH2 which flooded the basement, she said that efforts are under way to speed up repairs.

       She said that the situation was under control and that the water in the basement had been cleared.

       She said that the QEH2 management together with the maintenance contractors were putting in place a new pipeline to bypass the burst pipe.