Nine bodies have been pulled from a country house housing people with learning disabilities in France that was engulfed in flames. Earlier, the fire brigade had announced that 11 people were missing.

Nearly 80 firefighters were sent to the blaze in La Forge after emergency services were alerted at 06:30 local time (04:30 GMT) on Wednesday.

The 11 missing are considered “probably dead,” a local official told AFP news agency.

The fire appears to have started at a property used by a charity which helps people with disabilities.

Seventeen people were evacuated from the building, while at least one person has been taken to hospital. The cause of the fire is not yet clear.

Confirming that the rescue operation was underway, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said there were likely to be many casualties from the fire in the town, which is near Wintzenheim, close to the German border.

In a statement, the local government for the Haut-Rhin region said the 11 people missing were part of a group from Nancy, also in eastern France.

Four fire engines and 76 firefighters were dispatched to douse the blaze, who quickly brought it under control despite the intensity of the fire, he added.

The head of the Bas-Rhin department in eastern France said people missing from the fire were now “probably dead”, reports AFP.

Those on the ground floor were able to quickly leave the building, but people upstairs could not, he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron said his thoughts were with the victims and their families and thanked emergency services for their response to the “tragedy”.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Bourne and Families Minister Ororé Berge are on their way to Windenheim.

Photos published in local media show the partially wooden cottage in La Forge almost completely burning early Wednesday morning.

The building is an old barn converted into a three-story cottage. Firefighters said two-thirds of it was on fire before they were able to bring it under control.