A number of people have been hospitalised after a fire at an accommodation centre for asylum seekers.

It happened shortly after 1am this morning on the Main Street of Buncrana in County Donegal.

An Garda Síochána and Donegal Fire Service responded to the scene and everyone in the building was evacuated safely.

A number of people were then taken to University Hospital Letterkenny to check for possible smoke inhalation.

In a statement, Gardaí said:

“Preliminary indications are that the fire started and was confined within one room within the building,” they said.

“An Garda Síochána will carry out a technical examination of this fire scene, which will determine the course of any other investigations.”

Gardaí also said the fire is “unlikely” to have been caused by “malicious intent”.

Main image: Garda station on O’Connell Street in Dublin. Photograph: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie