Fire at nursing home in Chile kills 16 residents

Image source, Getty Images At least 16 elderly residents have died in a fire at a nursing home in Chile, according to authorities.

Dez outros foram evacuados após um incêndio ter saído na casa El Edén em /idt2/d9cfcc9a-2842-463f-a4d8-4dd007ef9547, a cerca de 640 km (400 milhas) ao sul da capital Santiago, na sexta‑feira à noite.

Jorge Granada, a prosecutor leading the case, said it was not clear at this stage what caused the incident.

Chile's President José Antonio Kast said he had ordered a review into 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.

Precisamos saber a verdade e, com base nisso, corrigir o que for necessário para fazer tudo o que for possível para evitar que uma tragédia como esta aconteça novamente," acrescentou o presidente.

The fire, which began at around 22:30 (01:30 GMT) was finally put out on Saturday morning.

On Saturday, firefighters were still clearing debris and removing collapsed corrugated metal roofing. Police cordoned off the area for safety.

É uma situação que enche nossas almas de grande tristeza e dor. Temos estado... fornecendo apoio às famílias," disse a prefeita local Jacqueline Romero.