Brindisi: Pensioner (98) and carer die in fire

SAN PIETRO VERNOTICO - A tragic fire in an apartment in San Pietro Vernotico in the province of Brindisi claimed the lives of two people late on Saturday evening. A 98-year-old man and his 44-year-old caregiver of Romanian origin were found dead by the emergency services. The two victims presumably died of smoke inhalation.

Relative sounded the alarm

The fire department was alerted shortly before 8 p.m. by a concerned relative who was unable to reach the elderly man by phone. When the emergency services broke down the front door, they discovered the two lifeless bodies in separate rooms. According to the initial findings of the fire investigators, the fire broke out in the 98-year-old's bedroom. It is suspected that a short circuit in an electric heater set fire to the bed and other furniture. While the man's room was engulfed in flames, the caregiver was found in another room untouched by the fire itself. This confirms the assumption that the thick, toxic smoke became a deadly trap for both of them. The Carabinieri have begun investigating the exact cause of the fire.