Fire kills 10 elderly people in Spanish retirement home

Relatives wait for news outside a nursing home in Zaragoza, Spain
Relatives gathered to wait for news outside the nursing home where least 10 people died in a fire. -AAP Image

At least 10 elderly people have been killed when fire ripped through a retirement home in northern Spain.

The blaze started early on Friday in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government's top official in the region, told reporters.

All the victims were elderly people living in the "Jardines de Villafranca" residence in the town Villafranca del Ebro, he added.

The fire took about two hours for firefighters to put it out, the regional government said.

Two people were in a critical condition and several were being treated, mainly for smoke inhalation, mayor Volga Ramirez, said.

Ramirez said her husband helped the elderly escape.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.