Taipei, Oct 3 : A hospital fire, which broke out on Thursday morning in Pingtung County in Taiwan, has claimed eight lives, according to local media reports.

The Pingtung County government said that the eight individuals -- six men and two women -- showed no signs of life after being rescued from the fire site and were declared dead despite emergency resuscitation efforts.

The local fire department received a report at 7:41 a.m. of thick smoke emanating from a building at Antai Tian-sheng Memorial Hospital, Xinhua news agency reported.

Addressing the media earlier, Su Ching-chyuan, the hospital's honorary dean, said that the fire was caused by the combustion of an air compressor in a hospital building's machine room, adding that most of the victims were elderly hospitalised patients.

Rescue personnel on-site told local media that the fire is now under control.

/IANS