A Russian doctor faces criminal charges for punching a patient to death, after footage of the attack emerged on hospital CCTV.

The patient, identified as Belgorod resident Yevgeniy Bakhtin, 56, had allegedly been aggressive towards a nurse during a stomach examination on 29 December, according to Russian website Life News.

The video shows the doctor, identified as Ilya Zelendinov by Ren TV, interrupting the examination and punching Bakhtin in the head, causing him to fall to the floor. The doctor also repeatedly punches another man who tries to intervene.

Zelendinov and other staff tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate Bakhtin, who is seen in the video lying unconscious on the floor. He died of a brain haemorrhage following the attack, Bakhtin’s aunt Natalia Zaika told Life News.

Health Minister Veronika Skortsova ordered a probe into the incident afer the hospital CCTV spread virally online, state television reports. Zelendinov faces potential charges of causing death through negligence.