Authorities reported that following an early morning fire from which the lone carer was the only person to escape, all ten of the elderly inhabitants of the Uruguayan nursing home died Sunday.
In a statement, an official said, “Eight women and two men died from the blaze at the six-roomed facility in the city of Treinta y Tres in the South American country’s east”.
“Firefighters found the main entrance shuttered on their arrival”, the statement reads.
When they arrived inside, they discovered a fire in the living area, with smoke spreading throughout the building.
“A 20-year-old caretaker had managed to get out safely through a garage”, the statement continued.
Seven occupants perished on the site as a result of smoke inhalation, and three others were brought to the hospital in severe condition but did not survive.
The tragedy occurred barely ten days after a fire broke out at another nursing facility for the elderly and people suffering from psychiatric disorders in Melo, also in eastern Uruguay.
In one case, a 77-year-old man and 72-year-old woman died in hospital after being evacuated with 40 other inhabitants.
Sixteen percent of Uruguay’s 3.4 million people are over the age of 65, a figure that is increasing.
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