Summary

  • Three people have been found dead after an incident at a Dorset care home, police say

  • The deaths at the Swanage home are being treated as "unexplained"

  • Four other people have been taken to hospital as a "precaution"

  • The other residents of Gainsborough Care Home have been evacuated to a nearby church

  • Police, fire and ambulance crews are attending - as well as gas company Southern Gas Networks (SGN)

  • A local councillor says there is a "suspicion" the deaths "could be attributable to carbon monoxide but it has not been proven"

Live Reporting

Edited by Sue Paz, written by Emily Ford and Toby Wadey

  1. What we know so far....

    • Three people have been found dead at Gainsborough Care Home this morning
    • Four people have also been taken to hospital
    • Residents at the care home in Ulwell Road have been evacuated to All Saints Church
    • There is a significant presence of emergency services and gas company SGN is also on the scene
    • A local councillor has suggested there is a suspicion the deaths "could be attributable to carbon monoxide, but it has not been proven"

  2. Blankets and pillows given to residents

    Sophie Cridland
    BBC South, at the scene in Swanage

    Back outside All Saints Church, where the residents have been moved to, care home staff are taking in quilts, blankets and pillows.

    Ambulance workers and care home staff are also taking in bottles of water and pints of milk.

    Elsewhere, a community support office is stopping care home staff from talking to members of the media.

    A man was ready to talk but she pulled him away.

  3. More firefighters arrive on scene

    Sophie Cridland
    BBC South, at the scene in Swanage

    Emergency service vehicles are heading in and out of Ulwell Road.

    More firefighters have turned up in the last 10 minutes and are putting gear on.

  4. 'Suspicion' carbon monoxide could be linked to deaths

    Councillor Gary Suttle said there was a "suspicion" the deaths "could be attributable to carbon monoxide but it has not been proven".

    The Swanage ward member at Dorset Council added: "I have been told by (Dorchester) social services there was a critical incident at the home."

    A spokesperson for gas network company, SGN, has previously confirmed to the BBC that engineers were called to the care home this morning.

    Katie Lobban said SGN was working in its capacity as the National Gas Emergency Service for the south of England.

    She added: "Our engineers are waiting for access to the building to complete safety checks."

  5. Where in the UK is the care home?

    A map shows the scale of the area, on the top is a picture of Bournemouth on the UK map with a small annotation showing where Swanage is, below is a street view aerial image of Gainsborough Care Home

  6. Wellbeing of residents 'overriding priority', care home says

    A care home spokeswoman has confirmed an incident happened there this morning and that staff had been "closely working" with lead agencies.

    She said they were managing the welfare of all those concerned, with the wellbeing of residents "always our overriding priority".

    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.

    Gainsborough Care Home, Spokesperson

  7. Pictures show scale of emergency response

    Sophie Cridland
    BBC South, in Swanage

    Emergency services lining the streets approaching Ulwell Road
    Outside All Saints Church, a sign for the church on a patch of green grass
    Emergency services lining the streets approaching Ulwell Road
    Emergency services lining the streets approaching Ulwell Road

  8. 'Significant' multi-agency presence to remain on scene

    Here's more on that statement from a Dorset Police spokesperson: "Other residents of the address have been evacuated to a safe location as emergency services respond to the incident.

    "There remains a significant multi-agency presence in place at the address and a cordon remains in place as we work with partners to carry out further enquiries. At this time there is nothing to indicate any risk to the wider public.

    We understand this incident will have a significant impact on the Swanage community and our thoughts are very much with the families of those who have sadly died at this extremely difficult time."

    Dorset Police spokesperson

  9. Councillor shares condolences after 'tragic event'

    Councillor Gary Suttle called the Gainsborough Care Home incident a "tragic event".

    The Dorset councillor said: "Our condolences and sympathy are with those who have lost their lives."

    He added the other residents were "safe and going to be relocated".

    A police slow sign sits on the road to the left of the image as ambulances and police vehicles line either side of a residential street leading up to the care home

    Mr Suttle said residents of the care home were initially taken to All Saints Church, near the scene in Ulwell Road, and would now be moved to other placements.

    He spoke of local residents "kindly" coming into the church bringing blankets in acts of "great community support".

    He added: "We hope the fire brigade will be able to confirm the building will be safe to enter in about 30 minutes."

  10. Deaths being treated as 'unexplained', police say

    A statement from Dorset Police said officers were called at about 07:15 BST after three people were "found deceased" at the care home in Ulwell Road, Swanage.

    A force spokesperson said the deaths were being treated as "unexplained" and an investigation has been launched.

    "Inquiries are being carried out to establish the full circumstances and we are continuing to liaise with our partner agencies," they continued.

    "The families of those who have died have been informed and the coroner has been notified."

    Four other people have been taken to hospital as a precaution, they added.

  11. Three people died at care home
    Breaking

    Three people were found dead at the care home this morning, police have confirmed.

  12. Someone taken to ambulance from church

    Sophie Cridland
    BBC South, at the scene in Swanage

    Two ambulance crew have just taken someone from the All Saints Church, where the care home residents were evacuated to, to an ambulance.

    They are thought to be one of the residents.

  13. Beds moved to church after care home evacuation

    Sophie Cridland
    BBC South, at the scene in Swanage

    The outside of a pale beige brick church with greenery and beds laid down on the grass

    Residents of the care home have been evacuated to the nearby All Saints Church.

    The emergency services are taking medical equipment and beds inside.

    There are a number of ambulances, equipment support unit vans and a Southern Gas Network Van parked outside the church.

    Dorset Police officers are also present.

    Residents have been seen carrying in bacon rolls and other foods wrapped in tin foil.

  14. Residents in wheelchairs evacuated, says witness

    People living on Ulwell Road, where the care home is situated, saw residents being evacuated amid a heavy emergency services presence.

    One man, who did not want to give his name, told the PA news agency: "They have taken all the patients out but the emergency services are still on the scene."

    He said he saw some residents being evacuated in wheelchairs.

    He believed emergency services arrived about 07:00 BST and started to see people being moved out about 90 minutes later.

  16. Who runs the care home?

    Gainsborough Care Home is located in the heart of Swanage.

    It is run by Agincare, a national provider managing more than 20 facilities across the country.

    Gainsborough has 48 bedrooms and cares for elderly people, some of whom have dementia.

    The home's website says it provides "a safe and homely environment within a real village community".

    Agincare has been approached for comment.

  17. Footage shows street lined with emergency services

    This footage - a walk along Ulwell Road - shows the extent of the emergency response.

    Footage shows street lined with emergency services after reported 'tragic incident' at care home.

  18. What we know so far...

    • Ten ambulances were sent to the Gainsborough Care Home in Swanage at 05:20 BST
    • A hazardous response team was also deployed
    • Two people have been taken to hospital
    • Gas company SGN was also sent to the scene and describes the incident as "tragic"

  19. SGN sends thoughts to those affected by 'tragic incident'

    A spokesperson for gas network company, SGN, has confirmed engineers were called to the care home this morning.

    Katie Lobban said SGN was working in its capacity as the National Gas Emergency Service for the south of England.

    She added: "Our engineers are waiting for access to the building to complete safety checks.

    "Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this tragic incident."

    We are yet to receive any information from Dorset Police but the force has been approached for comment.

  20. Ambulances 'keep coming' as more arrive by ferry

    A red fire and rescue van with a white 4x4 car in front getting off a ferry rampPatricia Garnel

    A woman has described seeing multiple emergency vehicles arriving at the scene via ferry.

    Resident Patricia Garnel said "they keep coming" and that she had also seen more police cars go past.

    "There’s more ambulances waiting to get in the ferry," she added.

    The Sandbanks Ferry is usually the fastest way to reach Swanage and Purbeck from the Poole and Bournemouth area.