Omis wildfire death toll rises to 5 as man dies in Split hospital

A man born in 1956 has died at Split's university hospital, KBC Split, from injuries sustained in August's wildfire near Omis, Croatia, becoming the fire's 5th fatality, hospital officials said, according to Croatian outlet 24sata.

Despite intensive treatment, doctors at the hospital's intensive care unit could not save him, KBC Split said in a statement. The hospital extended its condolences to the man's family. Another patient who was also injured in the fire remains in the same unit, and the hospital described that patient's condition as currently stable.

The wildfire broke out on 13 August at around 8:15pm local time near Lokva Rogoznice, in the hills above Omis, 24sata reported. Carried by a strong bura wind, it spread quickly towards nearby settlements and on towards Omis itself, overwhelming firefighting crews in the area.

A 34-year-old woman, a Bosnian national, was the fire's first victim; she died during the blaze itself. A second victim, a man, died at KBC Split on 28 August, succumbing to his injuries more than two weeks after the fire began.

A 58-year-old woman became the third person to die from the fire when she died in Split on 10 September, nearly a month after the flames first broke out. A 41-year-old woman died at the Sisters of Mercy University Hospital in Zagreb on 6 October, becoming the 4th fatality, more than seven weeks after the fire, 24sata reported.

The man born in 1956 is now the 5th person to die from injuries linked to the August fire, with his death coming two months after the blaze first swept through the area, 24sata and Dnevni Avaz reported. In total, the fire has now claimed 5 lives over more than two months, with victims dying at the scene and in hospitals in Split and Zagreb.