A fire broke out late Tuesday in a nursing home in the Bosnian town of Tuzla, police said, with local media and officials reporting that several people had been killed.

The fire erupted at around 8.55 pm (1955 GMT) and police patrols, firefighters and emergency medical services were quickly dispatched to evacuate and care for residents, police told AFP.

Police said they had no immediate information on casualties, but local media reported that there were several victims.

Irfan Halilagic, the head of the Tuzla canton, told national TV channel BHRT that he had received information “on killed and injured” people. He did not elaborate.

The chairman of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, Zeljko Komsic, offered condolences to the families of the victims and wished a quick recovery to those injured, BHRT reported.

Footage from the scene released by local media showed the fire on an upper floor of the nursing home building.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately known, nor whether it had been extinguished.

- Agence France-Presse