16 elderly residents killed in fire at Chilean nursing home
Sixteen elderly residents were killed when a fire swept through a nursing home in southern Chile, according to local authorities. Ten other residents were rescued from the facility.
The fire broke out at about 10:08 p.m. Friday at the El Edén nursing home near Pitrufquen in Chile’s Araucania Region, according to the regional prosecutor’s office. The facility had 26 elderly residents inside, and local officials said a single caregiver was on duty when the fire began.
The caregiver managed to evacuate 10 people. Authorities are investigating whether the person was a trained nursing technician, according to Araucanía Diario, which cited a regional government official.
Prosecutors, fire investigators and police forensic specialists are examining the scene. They are working to determine what caused the fire, the conditions in which the residents were living and whether the home had the required operating permits.
The facility had been cited for irregularities for years and was already the subject of an administrative investigation that began last year, according to officials. The municipality of Pitrufquén had also filed a complaint in February over alleged mistreatment inside the home.
The owner of the nursing home has been questioned as a suspect, but no charges have been announced.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
