Fire at nursing home in Chile kills 16 residents
Ten people were evacuated from the home in Araucanía region in central Chile.
Fire at nursing home in Chile kills 16 residents
At least 16 elderly residents have died in a fire at a nursing home in Chile, authorities said.
Ten more people were evacuated after a blaze broke out at the El Edén home in /idt2/d9cfcc9a-2842-463f-a4d8-4dd007ef9547, about 640km (400 miles) south of the capital Santiago, on Friday evening.
Jorge Granada, the prosecutor in charge of the case, said it was not yet clear what caused the incident.
Chile's President José Antonio Kast said he had ordered a review of the condition of nursing homes across the country.
"We will fully collaborate with the justice system to clarify what happened, determine where failures may have existed in oversight or prevention, identify what alerts were raised and what actions were taken in response to them," Kast said.
"We need to know the truth and, based on that, correct whatever is necessary to do everything possible to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again," the president added.
The fire, which started at about 22:30 (01:30 GMT), was finally extinguished on Saturday morning.
On Saturday, firefighters were still clearing debris and removing collapsed corrugated metal roofing. Police had cordoned off the area for safety.
"It is a situation that fills our souls with great sorrow and pain. We have been... providing support to the families," said local mayor Jacqueline Romero.