Three people have died and four more have been rushed to hospital after a ‘major incident’ was declared at a care home following a suspected carbon monoxide leak.
Dorset Police received a report at 7.16am after they were found dead at Gainsborough Care Home in Swanage, Dorset.
The ambulance service had been called two hours earlier, at 5.20am, when they also attended the scene.
Enquiries into the cause are ongoing and it is currently being treated as ‘unexplained’.
A spokesperson added: ‘At this time there is nothing to indicate any risk to the wider public.’
Four people have been taken to hospital as a precaution and more than 40 vulnerable residents and staff were evacuated by ambulances and taken to the All Saints Church nearby for shelter.
In a statement to the BBC from Gainsborough Care Home, a spokesperson said their priority was to ensure the residents ‘remain safe and well.’
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They said: ‘Part of the local business continuity plan was to transfer residents in a managed way to a local village hall and church, where they remain safe and well.
‘We appreciate that this is a stressful and worrying time for those involved and have allocated extra staffing resources to provide support locally. We are contacting and updating residents’ families.
‘We will continue to work with the lead local authority services to return residents into their home at the earliest opportunity, and will provide further updates in due course.’
