Seven people have died after undergoing kidney dialysis treatment at a hospital in northern Vietnam, according to various media reports.

The incident happened at Hoa Binh Province General Hospital, about 80 km west of Hanoi, on Monday.

Vietnamese online newspaper VnExpress said a group of 18 patients were rushed to the hospital’s emergency room after suffering from suspected anaphylactic shock.

BBC reported that a woman is in intensive care while the remaining 10 patients have been transferred to another hospital in Hanoi, supposedly in stable condition.

It’s believed the 18 patients were receiving routine dialysis, a process that cleans the blood and removes waste products – often by passing blood through a machine – for those whose kidneys stop working properly.

Doctors immediately stopped the procedure and switched to emergency treatment, and the hospital mobilised nearly all of its key units to help save them, hospital director Truong Quy Duong told state media.

“I would like to apologise to families and the whole community, we are very surprised at this rare incident,” he added.

Meanwhile, the health ministry has launched a criminal investigation.

All medical equipment and drugs in the kidney care department have been sealed off at the state-run hospital.

Following news of the incident, state media said Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam visited the hospital and called for “all available resources” to help the surviving patients.