Residents were moved to a church down the road from the care home (Picture: Google/X/@PatriciaGarnel)
Two people have been taken to hospital after a care home was evacuated in Dorset.
Staff were seen crying outside the building on Ulwell Road, in Swanage, after two residents were taken to hospital this morning.
Residents have been evacuated to a nearby church while emergency services, including a hazardous response team, attend the scene.
Emergency services are refusing to comment on the nature of the incident or whether there is any risk to the wider public.
At least a dozen emergency vehicles have been pictured along Ulwell Road all the way to All Saints Church.
‘They keep coming’, according to resident Patricia Garnel, who shared images of more emergency vehicles at the Sandbanks Ferry, often the quickest way to reach Swanage from Poole and Bournemouth.
She said: ‘There’s more ambulances waiting to get in the ferry.’
They have been joined on the scene by Southern Gas Network.
The 48-bedroom Gainsborough care home is at the centre of the emergency response
A spokesperson for the gas company said: ‘We were called to Gainsborough Care Home in Swanage earlier today in our capacity as the National Gas Emergency Service for the south of England.
‘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.’
A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said: ‘We were called at 05:20hrs on Wednesday 23 October to an incident at a care home in Swanage.
‘We sent a Hazardous Area Response Team, ten double-crewed land ambulances, as well as a significant number of additional resources.
‘Two patients were conveyed by land ambulance to Poole Hospital.’
Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service said: ‘We were called at 7.47am this morning (23 October) to assist the ambulance service in Ulwell Road, Swanage.
‘We currently have four fire crews on scene from Swanage, Wareham, Westbourne, Poole, a support vehicle from Dorchester along with two crews from Winchester (Hampshire and IOW FRS).
‘Firefighters are working with Dorset Police, South West Ambulance Service and other partners to resolve this incident.’
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