San Jose - Seventeen elderly people, some tied to their beds, others blind and scrambling to escape, burned to death yesterday, after a fire in their retirement home in Costa Rica, authorities said.
The fire broke out in the early hours as most victims were sleeping and took 15 minutes to destroy the home, a local firefighter said.
Some 24 people escaped the blaze at the home in Tilaran, which is about 200 km north-east of the capital San Jose.
