One of the residents killed in a fire at an unregistered nursing home in western Sri Lanka had been chained, while another was untied and saved, a staff member said.
Nursing home worker Danuja Chathuranga’s comments on Friday came as public outrage grew over the treatment allegedly meted out to residents at the home in Galpatha, where 13 people are now known to have died in the blaze that started late Wednesday.
“There were two who were chained,” said Chathuranga.
“You only have to take your eyes away for one moment, they run away. One of them had gone one day with the chair he was tied (to) and was found entangled in a barbed wire fence.
“Another with sores on (their) legs was brought back from a muddy field.
“Our intention was not to harm them. They were patients receiving psychiatric treatment. If they run away or fall into a pit, well or get run over by a vehicle, we have to take that responsibility,” he said.
The nursing home for people with mental health conditions was abandoned on Friday.
Glass cases, medicines and reclining chairs lay strewn around the burned-out shell in the small town about 55km southeast of the capital, Colombo.
The fire-ravaged nursing home and two other nursing facilities run by the same management are unregistered but government officials and institutions have worked with them.
Amala Rajapaksa, the homes’ chief administrator, said residents include referrals from the state’s main mental hospital, courts and police.
Government doctors visit the residents to treat them.
Authorities transferred 21 fire survivors to another nearby home run by the same management.
The area’s government welfare officer declined to comment on the arrangements, citing restrictions on state employees to speak to the media.
According to police, 71 people were staying at the home at the time of the fire, of which 50 were rescued by neighbours, firefighters and police.
Seven remained hospitalised.
Chathuranga said it is thought the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit in wiring attached to a water pump. — AP
