A woman has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after three people were found dead at a care home in Swanage.

Dorset Police said the 60-year-old woman was arrested on Wednesday “to enable us to establish whether there were any grossly negligent acts or omissions and to gather as much information as possible about what occurred”.

The deaths at Gainsborough Care Home are currently treated as “unexplained” and possible carbon monoxide poisoning is the “primary line of investigation”, police said in an earlier update.

Seven people were taken to hospital “as a precaution” and the property was evacuated.

Police were called at 7.16am on Wednesday and said there was no risk to the general public.

A spokesman for Southern Gas Network confirmed it was called to Gainsborough Care Home.

The care home, run by Agincare, has 48 people, all of whom are elderly and some of whom have dementia.

All residents were evacuated to a nearby church hall, some in wheelchairs.

A spokesman for the care home said it had deployed “extra staff resources” during the incident and that the welfare of residents was a “top priority”.

Dorset Council member Gary Suttle said: “We offer our condolences and condolences to those who lost their lives in this tragic incident.”

He thanked locals who provided “huge community support” by coming and bringing blankets to the church where people were evacuated.

The South West Ambulance Service said it was called to the home in Swanage at 5.20am and sent a distress response team, 10 ambulances and “significant additional resources”.

A spokesman for Southern Gas Network said: “As the national gas emergency service for the south of England, we were called to Gainsborough Care Home in Swanage earlier today.

“Our engineers are waiting to enter the building to complete security checks.

“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragic incident.”

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dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said it sent four crews to the scene in Ulwell Road after being called at 7.47am, with two crews from Hampshire and Isle of Wight services also present.

Group manager Neil Tidball said: “Firefighters are working with Dorset Police, South West Ambulance Service and other partners to resolve this incident.”