At least 10 elderly women died early on Tuesday in a fire at a nursing home in the Chilean town of Chiguayante, officials said. Officials are investigating the cause of the fire in one of Casa de Reposo Santa Marta's pavilions in Biobio region, located some 530 km south of Santiago, Efe reported.

Several victims were handicapped and had limited mobility, officials said. "We have 10 people dead," Biobio Governor Jorge Ulloa, who is a volunteer firefighter and joined the operation to control the blaze, said.