The hospital official who spoke to reporters outside the hospital was not immediately identified.
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16:05
An armed man is holding a number of doctors and other staff hostage at a hospital in Istanbul, it has emerged.
The gunman is believed to be a patient at the psychiatric unit of Istanbul`s Cerrahpasa hospital, according to local reports.
Police have been dispatched to the scene.
It comes as Turkey remains on high alert after multiple bombings in 2016 blamed on jihadists and Kurdish militants.
The new year began with the bloody attack on Istanbul`s Reina club which claimed the lives of 39 people.
The man suspected of launching the mass shooting claimed he received the order to attack from ISIS jihadists in Syria.
