A fire broke out at a nursing home in northeastern Bosnia-Herzegovina, killing 11 people and injuring at least 30 others, authorities said.
The fire started at a retirement facility in the town of Tuzla on Tuesday night, breaking out on the seventh floor just after 20:45 local time (19:45 GMT).
A police spokeswoman said about 20 people, including firefighters, police officers, medics, staff and residents of the home, were taken to the medical center for treatment.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear, but Prime Minister Nermin Niksic called it a “catastrophe of colossal proportions.”
Officials said a full investigation will be conducted as soon as the situation is safe.
Nursing home resident Ruza Kajic said she lived on the third floor of the building when she woke up to a “cracking sound.”
“I looked out the window and saw burning material falling from above. I ran into the hallway. There were people upstairs in bed,” she told public broadcaster BHRT.
Video from the scene showed flames shooting out of an upstairs window at the nursing home.
The nursing home’s director, Mirsad Bakalović, said he knew everyone caught up in the fire and had decided to resign after everything he witnessed during the fire.
Zeljko Komšić, Chairman of the Tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, expressed condolences to the families of the victims and the injured.
Local media reported that several patients were being treated for carbon monoxide poisoning, three of whom were in intensive care, according to a Tuzla University Clinical Center spokesperson.
