Africa News
Eighteen killed in fire at retirement home in South Africa
Aug 2, 2010, 5:52 GMT
Johannesburg - Eighteen people were killed and several injured when a fire gutted an old age home in South Africa, emergency services said Monday.
The fire at the home in Nigel, around 50 kilometres east of Johannesburg, broke out around 9 pm (1900 GMT) on Sunday, a spokesman for Netcare 911 emergency services said.
Security guards raised the alert when they saw flames billowing from the building.
Rescue workers managed to take 84 of the elderly residents to the safety of a local church, where they were treated by paramedics, Netcare's Chris Botha told the South African Press Association (SAPA). Three were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The bodies of 17 people were found in the ruins of the building. Another person died of a heart attack shortly after the incident.
The cause of the fire was not yet known.
