At least 10 killed after fire tears through retirement home

At least 10 people have been killed and two injured after a fire ripped through a retirement home in northeastern Spain.

The blaze broke out at the Jardines de Villafranca nursing home in Villafranca de Ebro, Aragón, at 5am local time (4am GMT).

Ten people died inside the building from smoke inhalation.though officials have not said whether the death toll includes residents or workers.

Two people who were injured, including one person who is in critical condition, have been taken to the Royo Villanova hospital. Other people are being treated for mild smoke inhalation, officials say.

Mayor of Villafranca de Ebro, Volga Ramírez, suggested that the fire may have started ‘in a mattress’ in one of the rooms of the single-storey building.

She stressed that there ‘cannot be more bodies’ as ‘everyone’ was evacuated.

‘Once all the smoke had cleared, we put them back inside because the firefighters told us it was safe,’ she told the radio station RNE.