Ten dead, 20 injured in nursing home fire in Bosnia and Herzegovina

At least ten people were killed and around twenty others injured in a fire that broke out late on November 4 at a nursing home in the northeastern Bosnian city of Tuzla, local police reported.

“According to preliminary information, ten residents of the nursing home in Tuzla died in the fire,” a police spokesman said.

The blaze erupted on the seventh floor of the facility at approximately 8:45 p.m. local time (9:45 p.m. Bulgarian time), according to the nursing home’s administration. The fire has since been brought under control, AFP reported.

About twenty people—including firefighters, police officers, medical staff, employees, and residents—received medical assistance at the University Clinical Centre in Tuzla.

“I was lying down when I heard a popping sound. I don’t know if it was the windows in my room that broke. I live on the third floor. I looked out the window and saw burning materials falling from above. I ran into the hallway. There are people confined to bed on the upper floors,” said resident Ruzha Kaich, speaking to national broadcaster BHRT.

Footage shared by local media showed flames engulfing one of the upper floors of the building as emergency crews worked to extinguish the fire.

Police said a full investigation into the cause of the blaze will be launched once conditions permit.

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tripartite presidency chairman Željko Komšić expressed condolences to the victims’ families and wished a swift recovery to the injured. Nermin Nikšić, Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, called the incident “a catastrophe of enormous proportions.”

By Vugar Khalilov