MADRID A fire at a nursing home near Zaragoza in northeastern Spain killed at least 10 people and injured others before firefighters managed to extinguish the flames, local authorities said Friday.

The alarm was sounded just before 5 a.m. Friday in Villafranca de Ebro, about 28 kilometers (18 miles) from the city of Zaragoza. Officials said two people were in critical condition.

The cause of the fire was not yet known.

Local media reported that 82 people live in the Jardines De Villafranca nursing home, which focuses on the treatment of people with dementia and mental health problems.

Jorge Azcón, president of the regional government of Aragon (which includes Villafranca de Ebro, population 840), told reporters outside the nursing home that an investigation would be opened into the cause of the fire.

He said the immediate priority was to transport the remaining uninjured residents to other facilities, including a facility in the city of Huesca, about 90 kilometers (56 miles) away.

Villafranca de Ebro mayor Volga Ramírez told reporters that heavy smoke from the fire was likely responsible for the deaths.

“This is not because they are burning, but because of smoke inhalation,” Ramírez said. He said the center’s remaining residents were evacuated safely.

Firefighters extinguished a fire that broke out in one room of the center, Zaragoza fire chief Eduardo Sánchez told reporters. The fire door prevented the fire from spreading to the other half of the building, he said.

On X, formerly Twitter, Azcón announced that all government events in the Aragon region were canceled for the day.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote to X that he was “shocked by the tragedy” and expressed his condolences to the victims.

The fire broke out a few weeks later Devastating flash floods in Valencia, Spain It killed more than 200 people and destroyed thousands of homes. The flood was the worst natural disaster in Spain’s recent history.