Romania: 66-year-old patient died from severe burns after a doctor used an electric scalpel on skin with antiseptic alcohol.

The victim died yesterday after days of treatment with severe burns over 40% of his body.

The incident occurred at Floreasca hospital in Romania's capital Bucharest when a 66-year-old patient with pancreatic cancer was ordered surgery on December 22. The doctor used an electric scalpel to disinfect skin with alcohol, causing the disinfectant to catch fire and spread throughout the victim's body. A nurse must flush water on the woman's body to prevent the fire from spreading.

"The surgical team should have known the ban on using disinfectants containing alcohol in electrosurgical operations," said Romanian Deputy Health Minister Horatiu Moldovan and pledged to investigate the incident. The victim's family said hospital staff only reported an "accident", but declined to provide further information.

The Romanian health system is constantly in a state of overloaded equipment, a shortage of manpower and a series of scandals, although it has recently been improved thanks to increased budget.

A 2015 nightclub fire killed 64 people, of which 38 died in the hospital. The former Romanian health minister has been accused of delaying or even blocking efforts to move victims abroad, leaving them dead as a result of a lack of equipment in the country's hospital. This allegation of investigation is still ongoing.