Findings by the independent investigation committee into the Sultanah Aminah Hospital fire that killed six people two years ago have been submitted to the Health Ministry today. 

The chairperson of the seven-member committee and former Court of Appeal judge, Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus, told Malaysiakini that the report was submitted to the ministry's secretary-general. 

"The committee was appointed by the health minister and subsequently approved by the cabinet. 

"Today my committee submitted our independent committee report on the fire tragedy of Oct 25, 2016, at Sultanah Aminah Hospital, Johor Bahru.

"We have impressed upon the ministry to declassify the report and make it public," he said. 

Hishamudin (photo) said the committee's hearing, which began on Jan 3, 2017, took 36 staggered days and involved 40 witnesses. 

"We examined 217 documentary exhibits. The report has 230 pages and was prepared after examining thousands of pages of documents," he added. 

At about 9am on Oct 25, 2016, a fire broke out at the intensive care unit of the hospital, killing six patients.

Then-health minister Dr S Subramaniam attributed the cause of the fire to the light capacitor burning up.

"Besides, there could have been inflammable material that caused the fire to spread rapidly," he had said. 

Three hospital staff were also injured in the fire, while one patient at the ICU was rescued.

As a result of the fire, the hospital's ICU had to be closed for six months.