Lethal Fire Breaks Out in Jilin Retirement Home
A fire in a retirement home in China’s northeast has killed seven people.
According to a report by Beijing Youth Daily, the home had 39 elderly residents, several of whom were paralyzed. The fire broke out at 4:10 a.m. on Wednesday and was extinguished by firemen 15 minutes later.
A few of the elderly were injured and are now recuperating at a nearby hospital.
The blaze happened in Chaoyang, a town in Jilin province some 100 kilometers from the border with North Korea. The small, two-story Judekang Retirement Home is privately run, and residents there slept four or more to a room.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
This article has been updated with additional information.
(Header image: Police block off the area around a retirement home after a fire broke out in Huinan County, Jilin province, Jan. 4, 2017. Ren Wenxin/VCG)