Brasilia, Sep 13 (IANS): At least nine people have been killed in a fire at a Brazilian hospital, the media reported.

Patients from the private Badim Hospital in northern Rio de Janeiro were evacuated as thick smoke spread through the building on Thursday night.

People on stretchers filled the nearby streets, before being moved to an alternative location, according to the BBC.

One woman told Globo news site that her 77-year-old father made his own way out of his room, but had to leave medical equipment - a neurostimulator - behind.

"It's a device he depends on for a living ... We asked a firefighter to go get it because without this device he won't live. If I could get in there, I'd get it myself," the woman said.

The blaze was brought under control two hours later, media reports said. An investigation into the incident was under way.

The hospital's management said they believe it was caused by a short circuit in a generator.