Barajevo home fire (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)
Eight people died in a fire that broke out at an elderly care facility in Belgrade's Barajevo suburb around 4:10 a.m. on Jan. 20, acting director of the Sector for Emergency Management Luka Causic has said.
He said that the preliminary results showed that one of the facility users had started the fire. Firefighters rescued 13 people from the fire, seven of whom were taken in for emergency medical treatment, while the rest have been placed in alternative accommodation, Causic underscored.
Dr. Violeta Nikolic of the Emergency Medical Institute said that four of the injured had been taken to the toxicology unit of the Military Medical Academy, while two were in the Emergency Room.
The fire has been extinguished and the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office will conduct an investigation into the causes.
The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade announced that the manager of the “Ivanovic” Nursing Home for the elderly and adults and two other individuals had been arrested on suspicion of committing a serious offense against public safety, which carries a prison sentence of two to twelve years. The prosecutors added in a release that there were grounds to believe that one of the residents had caused the fire, perishing in the incident as well.
Prime Minister Milos Vucevic said that the Government of Serbia would declare Jan. 22 a Day of Mourning.
To get full access to all content of interest see our
Subscription offer
Or
Register for free
And read up to 5 articles each month.
Already have an account? Please Log in.