At least eight dead in blaze at Czech home for the elderly

Prague, January 19

At least eight people died and seven were injured after a fire broke out at a home for the elderly in western Czech Republic in the early hours of Sunday morning, rescuers said.

“I can confirm a tragic fire with eight dead and seven injured people,” emergency services spokesman Prokop Volenik told AFP.

Volenik said it was too early to talk about the causes of the blaze.

He added seven ambulance units including two German ones had been deployed in the small Czech village of Vejprty on the German border some 100 kilometres northwest of Prague.

Czech media said rescue helicopters were grounded by bad weather in the mountainous region. — AFP