Fire in Spanish retirement home kills 10 near Zaragoza

Fire ripped through a retirement home in the town of Villafranca del Ebro in northern Spain early on Friday, killing at least 10 people, the regional government of Aragon said.

The blaze started in a residence for elderly called "Jardines de Villafranca" around 5 a.m. (0800 GST) 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.

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

Fire fighters, who came from the area of Zaragoza, a city 35 km (22 miles) away, ambulances and police are on site, he said. The cause of the fire was still being investigated.