The 61-year-old man, hemiplegic, died "despite the intervention of members of the nursing home and witnesses present on the spot".
His cigarette fell on his pants and set his clothes on fire, while he was outside an Ehpad.
An autopsy should be performed.
A 61-year-old man died Thursday evening in an Ehpad in Semblançay (Indre-et-Loire), near Tours, smoking a cigarette which set his clothes on fire while he was in his wheelchair, we have learned Friday from the gendarmes.
The tragedy occurred Thursday evening around 8 p.m., in an accommodation facility for dependent elderly people (Ehpad).
An autopsy should be performed
The victim "smoked his cigarette in his wheelchair, inside the establishment but outside, and which fell on his pants. It caught fire and he died", explained the gendarmerie d 'Indre-et-Loire to AFP.
The man, hemiplegic, died "despite the intervention of members of the nursing home and witnesses present on the spot", according to the same source which specifies that an autopsy must be carried out.