UELZEN (dpa-AFX) - Following the clinic fire in Uelzen, Lower Saxony, which claimed five lives, the hospital is planning a prayer service and a minute's silence. The deceased, the injured and those still fighting for their lives will be remembered on Wednesday (January 10), as the Helios Klinikum Uelzen announced on Sunday. A minute's silence is planned for 10.48 a.m., twelve hours after the fire alarm system goes off. The automatic emergency call to the fire department was received on Thursday evening at 10.48 pm. Both staff and patients could not forget the night, it was said.

The police have not yet released details on the gender and age of the five patients who died. A police spokesman said on Sunday afternoon that it was not yet known whether any other injured people had died. More details are to be released next week.

Three of the victims died in the Fresenius subsidiary's hospital, two others died after being transferred to other hospitals. The police also spoke of a double-digit number of injured people; according to the hospital, six people were seriously injured and 16 others were slightly or moderately injured. The cause of the fire is still unclear. Initial estimates put the total damage at over one million euros./cst/DP/he