At least two people died and several people were injured in a fire in a residential building in Flensburg on Thursday afternoon.

The fire brigade had been called to the burning apartment building on Harrisleer Straße near the old town, said a spokesman for the regional control center of the DPA news agency. According to Norddeutscher Rundfunk, the roof structure of the three-storey building was on fire.

The "Flensburger Tageblatt", the newspaper of the Danish minority "Flensborg Avis" and the DPA reported two dead people inside the house, citing the fire brigade. They are a child and an adult whose identity has not yet been clarified. At least nine people were reportedly injured and taken care of by rescue workers. Initially, up to 25 injuries were assumed. A total of 40 people were reported in the house, according to the police.

Because of many onlookers, the police cordoned off the area around the scene of the fire. Residents were asked to keep windows and doors closed.

Pictures from the scene show a charred facade of the house, as well as debris and a mattress in the street. The city of Flensburg said the top floor of the building was in danger of collapsing.

There was no information on the cause of the fire as of Thursday evening. In the past year there had been a whole series of willfully set fires in residential buildings in Flensburg. Police arrested several suspects.

Editor's Note: This article has been updated several times since it was first published.

Sources: Norddeutscher Rundfunk, "Flensburger Tageblatt", "Flensborg Avis", DPA news agency