July 7, 2024
All 10 elderly residents of a retirement home in Uruguay were killed in a fire early on Sunday, authorities said, with only one caregiver managing to escape.
Eight women and two men were killed in the fire that broke out in a six-room property in the city of Treinta y Torres, in the eastern part of South America, according to an official statement.
When firefighters arrived, the front door was closed and they went inside to find a fire in the living room with smoke spreading throughout the property.
The 20-year-old caretaker escaped safely through the garage, the statement said.
Seven of the residents died at the scene from smoke inhalation, while three others were taken to hospital in serious condition but did not survive.
The incident came just 10 days after a fire broke out at another care home for the elderly and mentally disabled, also in the eastern Uruguay city of Melo.
A 77-year-old man and a 72-year-old woman died in hospital after evacuating along with 40 other residents.
Sixteen percent of Uruguay’s population of 3.4 million are over 65, and the proportion is growing.
