15 dead, 5 injured in Mexico border nursing home fire

MEXICO CITY (AP) – A fire has killed at least 15 elderly residents of a nursing home on the outskirts of the northern border city of Mexicali, across the border from Calexico, California, the Mexican city’s mayor said Tuesday.

Mexicali Mayor Jaime Diaz Ochoa said another five people were being treated at a local hospital for burns, and were in serious condition.

He said the cause of the blaze was being investigated by the state prosecutors’ office.

The fire broke out early Tuesday at the nonprofit facility located in a rural area about a half-hour’s drive outside Mexicali.

Diaz Ochoa said 23 residents had been taken to a temporary city shelter, and would be referred to a city elderly care center. He said most were apparently over 75 years old.

Local media reported that the nursing home housed formerly homeless elderly people.

Telephone numbers listed for the home rang unanswered or were disconnected. Diaz Ochoa said the nonprofit that ran the home was called the Cultural Society for the Promotion of Social Welfare.

In its government registration page, the nonprofit organization listed one of its functions as “giving humanitarian assistance to low-income elderly people in need, including food, shelter, clothing and medical care.”