Nursing home blaze confirmed as arson, killing 11

HARBIN-- Arson has been confirmed as the cause of a fire in a nursing home in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province that killed 11 early on Friday morning, local police said.

The blaze happened at about 1:15 a.m. in the inpatient building of the Lianhe Senior Nursing Home in Hailun City, according to the municipal government's publicity department.

Wang Gui, 45, who lived in the home, lost his temper over 200 yuan ($32.4) that another resident had supposedly stolen from him and set the fire, the Hailun municipal public security bureau said on Friday afternoon.

Staff from the nursing home and Wang's peers tried to calm him down but failed.

As of 2 pm the identities of 10 of the dead have been confirmed, and their ages range from 45 to 87, according to the bureau.

Two people were injured in the fire, according to the bureau.

Wang was among the dead. He was sent to the nursing home as he suffered from cerebral thrombosis and had nobody taking care of him.

There were 32 people in the inpatient building, which covers an area of 300 square meters, when the fire broke out.

A total of 283 people were living in the nursing home, which was built in October 2005. With a total area of 7,000 square meters, it caters for the rural elderly in the city who have no source of income.