At least 11 dead and dozens injured after fire tears through retirement home in Bosnia
Harrowing footage showed flames and thick smoke engulfing the upper levels
At least 11 people have died and more than 30 others were injured after a huge fire broke out at a retirement home late on Tuesday night.
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The blaze tore through the upper floors of the multi-storey building, where many elderly residents were bedridden or unable to move without help.
Harrowing footage showed flames and thick smoke engulfing the upper levels as emergency services rushed to the scene in the Bosnian city of Tuzla late on Tuesday night.
Firefighters managed to rescue dozens of people as the inferno spread, though several were hurt in the process.
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Police confirmed that ten residents and one care worker were among the dead.
More than 20 others, including firefighters and medical staff, were injured.
Resident Ruza Kajic, who lives on the third floor, described the moment she woke to the sound of breaking glass and saw flames outside her window.
“I had gone to bed when I heard a cracking sound. I don’t know if it was the windows in my room breaking.
"I live on the (home’s) third floor. I looked out the window and saw burning material falling from above,” she told national broadcaster BHRT.
Survivors have been taken to Tuzla University Clinical Centre, where several patients are being treated for carbon monoxide poisoning - three of whom remain in intensive care.
Tuzla’s mayor, Zijad Lugavic, said local authorities were holding an emergency meeting to coordinate support for survivors and assess the damage.
The country’s leaders have expressed their condolences to the victims’ families.
The chairman of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, Zeljko Komsic, sent his sympathies, while Nermin Niksic, prime minister of the Muslim-Croat entity, described the blaze as a “disaster of enormous proportions.”
Officials said the fire broke out on the seventh floor of the building around 8:45pm local time. The cause remains under investigation, though the blaze has since been brought under control.
The head of the nursing home, Mirsad Bakalović, said he had decided to resign after witnessing the devastation caused by the fire.