At least nine people have been killed after a fire swept through an assisted living facility in Massachusetts, and dozens of other residents and five firefighters have been taken to hospital.
Authorities responded to the fire at Gabriel House, in the town of Fall River, at approximately 21:50 local time on Sunday (02:50 GMT on Monday). On arrival, they discovered residents trapped in the blazing building.
About 50 firefighters went to the scene, including approximately 30 who were off-duty at the time.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The town of Fall River is about 50 miles (80km) south of Boston and 20 miles from Providence, Rhode Island.
In a statement, the local department of fire services said that “several occupants” were pronounced dead at the scene, with others rescued and taken to local and regional hospitals in varying conditions.
The five firefighters who were taken to hospital suffered from non-life threatening injuries.
“This is an unfathomable tragedy for the families involved and the Fall River community,” Fall River fire chief Jeffrey Bacon said.
Approximately 70 people were living at the facility before the fire.
In a news conference, Fall River mayor Paul Coogan said that the building was equipped with sprinklers and that the fire had been contained to one wing of the building, but that smoke had spread throughout the three-storey structure.
“Smoke kills more people than fire does, every day in America,” he said. “I think the lesson that can be learned here is that you listen to your smoke detectors and react because smoke is a very deadly force.”
