Story highlights
Six people were injured, two of them seriously, authorities say
State media report the residents caught in the blaze had difficulty moving around
Thirty-eight people were killed and six others injured after a fire broke out at a nursing home in central China late Monday, authorities said.
Two of the injured were seriously hurt, the Administration of Work Safety in Henan province said in a statement.
The blaze swept through one of the buildings of the privately-owned Kangleyuan nursing home in Pingdingshan City.
State-run broadcaster CCTV reported that the residents of the building were unable to take care of themselves and had difficulty moving around. It showed video footage of the charred wreckage of the building.
One of the survivors, 82-year-old Zhao Yulan, told the official Chinese news agency Xinhua that she was rescued from her room, which she shared with 11 other people.
“Only myself and one other roommate managed to get out,” she said.
The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately clear and an investigation is underway, state media reported, citing authorities.
CNN’s Shen Lu reported from Beijing, and CNN’s Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong. CNN’s Jennifer Z. Deaton contributed to this report.