A serious incident occurred this afternoon in neighborhood no. 13 of the city of Korça, where a 72-year-old man lost his life as a result of flames that engulfed his apartment.
The victim is Urim Hysolli, known by local residents as a person with alcohol addiction problems. According to preliminary information, he had returned a few weeks ago to his apartment, which he had rented out for about 10 years, living together with the tenants.
Sources from the scene indicate that a few days ago, while drunk, the 72-year-old had attempted to set fire to the apartment, but the flames were extinguished in time by the tenant.
This afternoon, he is suspected of setting fire to the apartment again, with the flames spreading rapidly throughout the apartment.
Although the fire department and police arrived at the scene in record time, it was not possible to save the elderly man, who is suspected to have died from asphyxiation.
Firefighters are still working to completely extinguish the flames, while for safety reasons all residents of the building have been evacuated.
Police have launched investigations to fully uncover the circumstances of the incident and are questioning the residents of the building, as well as the tenants, to clarify what happened in the moments before the fire broke out.