Six folks died and dozens extra had been hospitalized for smoke inhalation after a fireplace broke out in a single day in a retirement house in Milan, the authorities stated Friday, including that the toll may have been far greater.

The fireplace began round 1:20 a.m. in a room of the primary ground of the Casa dei Coniugi retirement house in a southern residential neighborhood of Milan.

The explanation for the hearth was being investigated, firefighters and metropolis officers stated, whereas dozens of individuals had been evacuated from the construction.

Speaking on the road in entrance of the house early Friday, Mayor Giuseppe Sala of Milan stated the hearth had been contained to 1 room of the construction, the place two folks had been killed by the flames.

The fireplace was rapidly introduced below management, however the different victims died from smoke inhalation, the mayor stated. “It is a heavy toll,” he stated in a televised interview. “It could have been much worse.”

At least 80 folks had been taken to the hospital, with three in severe situation, about 15 with non-life threatening accidents and round 60 with mild accidents, stated Luca Cari, the spokesman for Italy’s firefighters.

According to its website, the Casa dei Coniugi residence can accommodate company with completely different ranges of self-sufficiency.

Nicola Micele, Milan’s fireplace chief, stated the character of the blaze “was clear,” including that investigators had been working with the judicial authorities and the police to find out the way it had began.