6 dead in Milan retirement home fire

Six people were killed and 81 others injured in a fire at a retirement home in Milan on Friday, media reports said.

A fire alarm was raised at the Casa dei Coniugi home for the elderly in the early hours of Friday, reports the BBC.

According to Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala, the blaze was put out quickly but rescuers had to bring everyone out "almost one by one by the arm".

"Six deaths is a very heavy toll," he told reporters, adding that all evidence pointed to the fire erupting in a room where two women had been living.

They were killed by the fire, he said, while the four other deaths were caused by smoke inhalation. 

"The fumes are as lethal as the fire," the BBC quoted the Mayor as saying.

According to Italy's state-run Ansa news agency, five of the six victims were women.

All those taken to hospital were suffering from smoke poisoning, and 14 are said to be in a serious condition, the agency added.

The retirement home, in the Corvetto area of southern Milan, housed 167 people, according to local reports.

It is owned by the city authority but run by a group that manages hundreds of residences across the country.