Hospital Guillermo Grant Benavente dismisses contamination after extraction fan failure

Workers at Hospital Guillermo Grant Benavente (HGGB) posted a video that appeared to show smoke in the hospital's central food‑service area. The hospital's director, Claudio Baeza Avello, clarified that the incident was not a contamination or "mushroom vapor" but a brief accumulation of water vapor caused by the failure of a newly installed extraction motor during routine upgrades.

The hospital reported no interruption to patient or staff meals – the central kitchen continues to produce more than 850 meals for patients and about 2,200 for employees daily. Contingency measures were enacted, and repairs on the aging 1945‑era equipment are ongoing to restore the extraction system.