Story By: Jonathan Macias, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash

This 70-year-old man has died on the grounds of a psychiatric hospital after he was attacked by a pack of stray dogs.

The tragic incident happened at the Borda Hospital psychiatric hospital in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires on 22nd May.

Local media report Jorge Marcheggiano, 70, had asked for permission to go for a walk around the gardens of the hospital where he was attacked by a pack of stray dogs.

A security guard at the hospital reportedly found Marcheggiano lying on the floor with dog bites all over his body at around 11 am.

The man was reportedly transferred to the Penna Hospital but he died a few hours after arriving at the facility.

Reports said that the Centre of Legal and Social Studies (CELS) denounced the condition of the Borda Hospital and three other psychiatric hospitals in Buenos Aires called El Moyano, El Alvear and El Tobar Garcia on 7th May.

Several packs of stray dogs reportedly lurk around the health institutions putting workers and patients at risk.

The Mental Health Coordinator of CELS, Macarena Sabin Paz, told local media: “Unfortunately many people abandon dogs that end up living in packs and are very difficult to control.

“The problem is not the dogs but the absence of a government policy to eradicate the packs.”

A volunteer from the Borda Hospital named Emiliano Rojas Salinas told local media: “It is not the first time the dogs have attacked someone. The patients have come to workshops with bite marks many times.”

It is unclear if the local authorities have commented on the incident.

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