King Edward VII Memorial Hospital?s new Intensive Care Unit sprung a major leak on Thursday night.

Fire Lt. Dana Lovell yesterday said: ?At about 5.23 p.m. flooding was reported at the KEMH in a new intensive care unit, which had opened only six weeks earlier.?

Lt. Lovell called it ?major flooding of about 300 square feet? as there was a 16 foot by 16 foot area with eight inches of water on the ground.

The Fire Service sent two appliances and six firefighters to the ICU where they used special equipment to empty the water ? a water vacuum and submersible pump.

?It took a little over an hour to empty the room and fortunately the floors were all tiled,? he said. ?Water was spraying everywhere.?understands that one patient was in the unit when the flooding took hold but he was not in any danger as KEMH staff were very careful about electronic equipment and the chance of electrocution.

CEO of the Bermuda Hospitals Board, Joan Dillas-Wright said last night: ?At 5 p.m. (Thursday) evening there was a flood in ICU room nine related to the new bathroom module subsequent to staff training on the bed pan washing function. It was fully corrected by 6.30 p.m.

?The Fire Services assisted BHB?s environmental services in removal of the water and mechanical contractors isolated the fixture and completed the necessary remedial works.

?We are investing the cause, but it appears to be a manufacturer design flaw that we have since corrected,? Mrs. Dillas-Wright said.