A hospital patient has died after being set on fire during surgery in Romania.

Axar.az reports citing BBC.

Surgeons at Floreasca Hospital in Bucharest used an alcohol-based disinfectant on the woman, 66, before carrying out her operation for pancreatic cancer on 22 December.

But they then used an electric scalpel - which, as it came into contact with the alcohol, set the woman's body alight on the operating table.

She suffered burns to 40% of her body, and died in hospital a week later.

Police have opened an investigation into the woman's death, local media report.

The victim's family told Romanian media they hadn't been told of "the gravity of the situation" or the details of what had happened - only that it was "an accident".

"We found out some details from the press, when they were broadcast on TV stations," they said. "We aren't making accusations, we just want to understand what happened."