Death toll rises to 16 in Mexican-US border city nursing home fire

Forensic technicians and firefighters inspect the site of a fire at a nursing home in Mexicali, Mexico, June 23, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

MEXICO CITY - At least 16 senior citizens were killed in a fire at a nursing home Tuesday morning in Mexico' s northwestern state of Baja California, local authority confirmed.

There were 45 people living in the nursing home, when the incident occurred early Tuesday morning at 4 a.m. local time (1100 GMT) in a rural area on the outskirts of Mexicali, a city on the Mexico-U.S. border.

A total of 15 elderly people died in the blaze and five others were transported to a nearby hospital for further treatment, said Mayor Jaime Rafael Diaz Ochoa during a press conference.

One elderly person is still missing, according to the mayor.

One of the five people that were taken to hospital succumbed to his injuries, bringing the death toll to 16, Deputy Procurator for Baja California Fernando Ramirez Amador told a local media company Televisa.

Local police and ambulances were at the scene and firefighters were able to contain the blaze.

Other uninjured residents from the home "Hermoso Amanecer" ( Beautiful Sunrise) have now been rehoused in another home for the time being, reported Televisa.

"Hermoso Amanecer" is run by the non-governmental organization Cultural Society Promoter for Social Welfare and has been in operation for a decade, according to local daily El Economista.

The cause of the fire is under further investigation.