A fire at a nursing home in southern Chile killed 16 elderly residents after the blaze broke out on Friday. The fire began around 22:30 local time (01:30 GMT) at the single-storey El Edén care home in Pitrufquen, in the Araucanía region, about 640km (400 miles) south of Santiago.
Twenty-six elderly people were inside the facility when the fire began, according to the local government. Ten survived and were taken to a local hospital. Firefighters extinguished the flames early Saturday and continued removing debris and collapsed corrugated metal roofing while police secured the area.
The cause of the fire is still unknown. Local prosecutor Jorge Granada said investigators were examining the scene and questioning people to determine how the fire started.
The private facility had a history of regulatory problems. Regional health official Jose Bravo described it as an unregulated operation that had been subject to administrative proceedings and fines since 2019. Pitrufquen Mayor Jacqueline Romero said the municipality had requested an inspection in February after finding the home was not complying with regulations and was facing sanitary enforcement proceedings.
Chile President Jose Antonio Kast called for the circumstances to be fully investigated in a post on X. He also said he had ordered urgent measures to assess conditions at nursing homes nationwide. “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,” Kast said.