2 killed 1 injured after fire breaks out in high-rise building in Germany

Two people died and one was injured after a fire broke out on the 11th floor of a high-rise building in the eastern German city of Dresden, fire services spokesman Michael Klahre said on Saturday.

Initially, the fire brigade rescued three people and resuscitated them, but later, an 87-year-old woman and an 87-year-old man died in hospital.

The third person was a 78-year-old woman who was injured by falling debris.

The fire broke out around midday in the Johannstadt district near the Elbe river. The entire 15-storey building was evacuated and Klahre called the fire services operation "extremely dramatic."

While firefighters fought the flames from outside, emergency responders searched the building for anyone stuck inside, the spokesman said.

It remains unclear what caused the fire.

The flat of the two who died was engulfed in flames and filled with thick smoke, according to the fire brigade.

The blaze has since been extinguished, with some 80 emergency responders deployed to the scene.

Some 40 people were evacuated from the building and temporarily sheltered in a public transport bus, where they were also given medical care.

Residents on the first nine floors have since been allowed to return to their flats, after the building was cleared of toxic smoke using ventilation equipment.