Taiwan Nursing Home Fire: Twelve Dead

At least 12 people have been killed and 60 wounded in a fire at a nursing home in southern Taiwan.

The fire started in the early hours in a nursing facility housing mainly bed-bound patients in Tainan city.

An earlier official estimate had reported there were 72 injured, but this was revised down in a health department statement.

A fire official said the blaze could have started in a storage room on the second floor of the five-storey building - part of the public Sinying Hospital.

The cause of all the deaths is believed to be smoke inhalation, while the injured were rushed to a dozen hospitals for treatment.

Television footage showed the burnt-out second floor of the building and bed and wheelchair-bound patients being carried out on to the hospital lawn.

Premier Sean Chen expressed his shock at the incident and sent his condolences to the families of the victims.

Tainan mayor Lai Ching-te said the fire was unusually deadly because the hospital was in a relatively remote area and most of the patients were immobile.

Concerns over staffing levels have also been raised as there were only six workers on duty for 70 patients.

An investigation into the cause of the fire has been launched.

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Taiwan Nursing Home Fire: Twelve Dead