NAPLES, Dec 16: A fire tore through a care home in southern Italy early on Sunday, killing 19 people, many as they slept, and injuring nearly a dozen, police said.

The blaze moved so rapidly through the prefabricated buildings of the home that officials said some victims were consumed by flames as they slept and others, unable to move quickly, died of asphyxiation.

The dead included 11 men and eight women who were believed to range in age from 25 to 60, police said. Eleven people were injured and treated for burns and other minor injuries in hospital.

More than 30 firefighters battled the flames for more than an hour before bringing the situation under control.

The cause of the blaze has not been determined, but a spokesman for the carabinieri police said the most likely explanation was an electrical short-circuit.

The home, near the town of Buccino, about 150 km east of Naples, consisted of several buildings that housed infirm people with psychiatric and motor neurone illnesses as well as elderly people.—Reuters