Three people have died and four taken to hospital after a care home in Dorset was evacuated and a hazard response team called.
A vast emergency response was mobilised to deal with the major incident in Swanage on Wednesday morning, with Dorset Police confirming the fatalities at Gainsborough Care Home shortly after 1pm.
An investigation launched because their deaths are being treated as “unexplained”, police said, adding: “Four other people have been taken to hospital as a precaution and other residents of the address have been evacuated to a safe location as emergency services respond to the incident.
“There remains a significant multi-agency presence in place at the address and a cordon remains in place as we work with partners to carry out further enquiries. At this time there is nothing to indicate any risk to the wider public.”
People living near the scene in Ulwell Road saw Gainsborough Care Home residents being taken out of the building, some in wheelchairs.
The home, run by Agincare, has 48 residents, all elderly and some with dementia. All of the residents were taken to a nearby church hall.
The family of one resident was called by the company on Wednesday morning and told that everyone was “fine”.
South Western Ambulance Service said they were called at 5.20am on Wednesday to an incident in Swanage, sending a hazard response team, 10 double-crewed ambulances and “a significant number of additional resources”.
“Two patients were conveyed by land ambulance to Poole Hospital,” a spokesperson added.
Gas distribution company SGN said they were called to the care home earlier today as the national gas emergency service for the south of England.
“Our engineers are waiting for access to the building to complete safety checks,” a spokesperson said.
“Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this tragic incident.”
A Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said they were called to the scene to assist ambulance crews at 7.47am, with two fire crews also called in from Winchester, which lies 60 miles from Swanage in the neighbouring county of Hampshire.
They said: “We currently have four fire crews on scene from Swanage, Wareham, Westbourne, Poole, a support vehicle from Dorchester, along with two crews from Winchester (Hampshire and IoW FRS).
“Firefighters are working with Dorset Police, South West Ambulance Service and other partners to resolve this incident.”
A police spokesperson added: “We understand this incident will have a significant impact on the Swanage community and our thoughts are very much with the families of those who have sadly died at this extremely difficult time.”
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