Emergency services at the scene of the fire this morning

10 dead as fire rips through Spanish retirement home

· RTE.ie

At least 10 people have been killed after a fire ripped through a retirement home in the town of Villafranca del Ebro in northern Spain early this morning, the regional government of Aragon has said.

The blaze started in a residence for elderly called 'Jardines de Villafranca' around 5am (4am Irish time) and it took a couple of hours for firefighters to put it out, a spokesperson for the regional government said.

The spokesperson could not specify whether all the victims were residents of the retirement home, where 82 elderly people lived.

The blaze at Jardines de Villafranca broke out at 4am Irish time (Image: Google maps)

One person was in a critical condition, while several people are under care mainly for suffering from smoke inhalation.

Firefighters, who came from the area of Zaragoza, a city 35km away, ambulances and police are on site, he said.

The cause of the fire was still being investigated.