At least 16 elderly residents died in a fire at the El Edén nursing home in Pitrufquén, Chile, on Friday evening. Ten other residents were evacuated following the blaze, which broke out around 10:30 p.m. local time.
The nursing home is located approximately 400 miles south of the capital, Santiago, in the Araucanía region. Firefighters battled the flames throughout the night, and the fire was extinguished Saturday morning.
Local officials described the situation as deeply sorrowful. "It is a situation that fills our souls with great sorrow and pain. We have been... providing support to the families," said local mayor Jacqueline Romero.
Jorge Granada, a prosecutor leading the investigation, stated that the cause of the fire is not yet clear. Chilean President José Antonio Kast announced that a nationwide review of nursing home conditions has been ordered. "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. He added, "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."