18 killed after fire at Johannesburg nursing home
Updated at 9:41 pm on 2 August 2010
Eighteen people have been killed and scores injured in a fire that has swept through a nursing home in Johannesburg, according to emergency services.
A spokesperson for the Netcare 911 service says the the fire broke out at the Pieter Wessels home for the elderly in Nigel, in the east of Johannesburg on Sunday night, AFP reports.
Eighty-four people have been rescued.
Scores were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation, while one man was flown to hospital with burns on 40% of his body. Two others suffered serious injuries, the spokesperson said.
Nearby churches have taken in some of the pensioners left homeless, and appealed for emergency supplies to help care for them.
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
Copyright © 2010, Radio New Zealand
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