AN accident and emergency department remains closed this morning after a fire at a Hampshire hospital.

The Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester expects to re-open its emergency department at 8pm this evening though with some limitations.

Dr Chris Gordon, acting chief executive at the hospital, said: “CT and MRI scanners won’t be functioning so there’s some groups we won’t be able to take, we will be accepting all we can and have made arrangements with the ambulance service of what patients they bring to us, the majority will be able to come to us.”

Fifty-five patients had to be evacuated when the alarm was raised at around 4pm yesterday about a fire in the MRI scanner unit.

At the peak of the incident around 100 firefighters from across Hampshire tackled the fire.

The blaze is now out and firefighters left the scene earlier this morning.

No-one was hurt and the cause of the fire is being investigated.

Dr Gordon said all the x-ray and ultrasound service should be working from 8pm this evening.

The hospital says MRI and CT scan appointments should be as normal from Monday afternoon with the delivery of mobile MRI and CT scan units with those scheduled for the morning sent elsewhere, but if there was any change people would be informed.

Routine surgery, ultrasound and endoscopy, he hoped, would all be running on Monday.