dcsh 2008-2-9 08:04 PM
Old people's home fire kills 11
Old people's home fire kills 11
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Firemen eventually withdrew for fear of the building collapsing
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[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_7230000/newsid_7236100?redirect=7236111.stm&news=1&nbwm=1&bbwm=1&nbram=1&bbram=1&asb=1][img]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/icons/video_text.gif[/img][b]Crews tackle fire[/b][/url]
[/td] [/tr] [/table] [b]A fire in an old people's home in Austria has killed 11 people and injured another six, three seriously.[/b][/size][size=2]The building, in the town of Egg, had 23 residents atthe time. Only six emerged unscathed. They are now being accommodatedelsewhere.[/size]
[size=2]Some 250 firefighters tackled the blaze until theypulled back because of fears the building might collapse, the Austrianpress agency reported.[/size]
[size=2]Thick smoke in upper rooms had hampered their earlier efforts to find people.[/size]
[size=2] [table=208] [tr] [td][img=5,1]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif[/img][/td] [td] [img=24,13]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif[/img] [b]This is a catastrophe, it is awful[/b] [img=23,13]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif[/img]
Alfred Gusenbauer
Austrian Chancellor
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[size=2]Reports say the fire broke out in an upstairs room. Its cause is not yet known, but a criminal investigation has been launched.[/size]
[size=2]Ten emergency doctors and 65 nurses tended to survivors.[/size]
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[size=2]The home housed elderly and sick people, which is whysome could not escape unaided. Officials say those who died - all ofsmoke inhalation - were particularly frail.[/size]
[size=2]"This is a catastrophe, it is awful," Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer told reporters in Egg.[/size]
[size=2]The local authorities have brought in crisis counsellors and set up a telephone hotline for worried relatives. [/size]