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Taiwan nursing home fire kills nine people, authorities confirm

Investigations into cause of blaze are ongoing, say authorities

Monday 13 August 2018 15:40 BST

Firefighters try to extinguish the blaze at Taipei Hospital (EBC via AP)

A fire at a nursing home in Taiwan has left nine people dead and 16 injured.

Authorities were still investigating the cause of the blaze that broke out before 5am, and was extinguished roughly one hour later.

Taiwan Earthquake: Rescuers scramble to save people trapped in dangerously tilting buildings

No details were immediately available about those who had died, although the fire department said 10 of the injured were in a serious condition.

In pictures: The crash of flight GE222 in Taiwan

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1/10In pictures: The crash of flight GE222 in Taiwan

In pictures: The crash of flight GE222 in Taiwan

Plane crash in Taiwan

A relative of a passenger onboard the TransAsia Airways Flight GE222 that crashed on the Taiwanese island of Penghu, cries at a funeral parlor in Penghu

In pictures: The crash of flight GE222 in Taiwan

Plane crash in Taiwan

A local resident walks past the tail section of TransAsia Airways flight GE222 as rescue workers and firefighters search through the wreckage the morning after it crashed near the airport at Magong on the Penghu island chain

In pictures: The crash of flight GE222 in Taiwan

Plane crash in Taiwan

A forensic team recovers human remains among the wreckage of crashed TransAsia Airways flight GE222 on the outlying island of Penghu

In pictures: The crash of flight GE222 in Taiwan

Plane crash in Taiwan

A forensic team recovers human remains among the wreckage of crashed TransAsia Airways flight GE222 on the outlying island of Penghu

In pictures: The crash of flight GE222 in Taiwan

Plane crash in Taiwan

Emergency workers remove the wreckage of crashed TransAsia Airways flight GE222 on the outlying island of Penghu

In pictures: The crash of flight GE222 in Taiwan

Plane crash in Taiwan

Soldiers remove debris from the scene of crashed TransAsia Airways Flight GE222 on the outlying island of Penghu

In pictures: The crash of flight GE222 in Taiwan

Plane crash in Taiwan

Rescue workers and firefighters search through the wreckage where Transasia Airways flight GE222 crashed the night before near the airport at Magong on the Penghu island chain

In pictures: The crash of flight GE222 in Taiwan

Plane crash in Taiwan

Relatives of victims killed in the TransAsia Airways Flight GE222 crash pray with the victims' portraits during a makeshift ceremony at the crash site on the outlying island of Penghu

In pictures: The crash of flight GE222 in Taiwan

Plane crash in Taiwan

Rescue workers survey the wreckage of TransAsia Airways flight GE222 which crashed while attempting to land in stormy weather on the Taiwanese island of Penghu

In pictures: The crash of flight GE222 in Taiwan

Plane crash in Taiwan

An injured passenger is helped by rescuers to get on an ambulance after the crash of the TransAsia Airways flight GE222 in Penghu

The nursing home attached to Taipei Hospital had 32 patients on the ward, along with 11 nurses, helpers and foreign caregivers.

Associated Press

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