Zagreb, 5 November 2025 (Hina/МIA) — Eleven people have died and at least 35 have been injured in the fire that broke out Tuesday evening at a care home for the elderly in Tuzla, northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mayor Zijad Lugavić said Wednesday morning.

"According to the information available to me, eleven people have died and more than 35 required medical assistance," Lugavić told the public broadcaster BHT 1.

The injured include mainly firefighters and police officers who were involved in extinguishing the blaze and rescuing residents, but also some residents themselves. The mayor said three people who have been hospitalized are in critical condition.

The bodies of the deceased will be transferred to the Commemorative Center for identification and autopsy.

Investigators remain at the scene, conducting a forensic inquiry to establish the cause of the fire and all other facts relevant to the investigation.

Lejla Kuloglija, head of the Tuzla emergency medical service, said that all available teams had been deployed. "It was extremely demanding and hard. We did everything we could," she said.

According to available information, the fire broke out shortly after 8 pm Tuesday on the seventh floor of the home, in a ward where bedridden residents were accommodated. Most of them were people suffering from dementia and severe forms of malignant disease receiving palliative care.

The fire at the care home has immediately triggered strong criticism of the facility's management.

Our Party issued a statement recalling that the party's councillor in the Tuzla Municipal Council had been warning about poor living conditions.

"Pointing to damp, poor hygiene, low-quality food, bullying at work, insults and residents' dissatisfaction is not media sensationalism, but a matter of dignity and human rights," the party said.

The Prime Minister of the BiH Federation entity, Nermin Nikšić, has announced a review of all social care institutions in the entity.