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A Rotterdam-Feyenoord fire department truck (AlfvanBeem/Wikimedia)
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A Rotterdam-Feyenoord fire department truck (AlfvanBeem/Wikimedia)
Monday, 29 August 2016 - 07:36
One killed, four hurt in Zeeland nursing home fire
Update 7:45 - A second resident of the nursing home died of injuries sustained in the fire, Omroep Zeeland reports.
One person was killed and four others injured in a fire at a nursing home in the Zeeland town of Krabbendijke on Sunday afternoon. The police are investigating the cause of the fire, ANP reports.
The fire started in an apartment on the second floor of the building late on Sunday afternoon. Firefighters extinguished it quickly, but smoke spread through the building and all residents had to be evacuated. The room in which the fire started sustained heavy damage.
Emergency services responded to the nursing home, run by Zorggroep Ter Weel, en masse. Two of the injured persons were taken to hospital, according to ANP. The other two were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.
The evacuated residents were given shelter in the complex's canteen. Many of them were allowed to return to their homes after the fire was extinguished, but 27 had to sleep elsewhere, NOS reports. Smoke damage made their homes uninhabitable.
The victim who died lived in the nursing home, the municipality of Reimerswaal confirmed on its website. The municipality called the fire "a very sad accident, which deeply touched residents and their families, as well as the staff of Ter Weel, deployed eergency services and many concerned residents of Krabbendijke and environs."
The cause of the fire is unknown. The police are investigating.