Fire in the nursing house Hebe kills 20 people

Twenty people were killed in a fire in a home to care for the elderly in northeastern China, according to government media.

The fire broke out in the city of Chenghedy, Hebei County, on Tuesday night local time and was extinguished in about two hours.

Reports say nineteen people survived the fire and were taken to hospital to monitor.

The authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, and a person responsible for the house has been detained. There were no other details immediately.

On social media, some called for a comprehensive investigation while others expressed their sympathy for the elderly victims.

“The elderly has problems of movement,” wrote a Weibo user. “I can’t imagine the extent of the despair they felt during the fire.”

The homes of the elderly and the elderly sponsorships have doubled between 2019 and 2024, according to the authorities, as China deals with an increasing number of population.

In 2023, 29 people – many of whom died of the elderly – and dozens were then wounded The fire caught fire in a private hospital in Beijing.