L'ISLE-VERTE, Quebec (AP) - A fire raged through a seniors' home in eastern Quebec on Thursday trapping terrified residents, most of them dependent on wheelchairs and walkers. Three died, 30 were missing and Canada's prime minister said there is little doubt the loss of life will be considerable.
Officials said firefighters saw and heard people in the building that they were unable to save.
Acting mayor Ginette Caron said many of those unaccounted for were confined to wheelchairs and walkers, noting that only five residents in the center were fully autonomous. She said some had Alzheimer's disease.
"We can keep some hope for those unaccounted for, but there's very little doubt that the loss of life is considerable," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said.
The massive fire in the 52-unit complex broke out around 12:30 a.m. ET in L'Isle-Verte, a small town of 1,500 people about 140 miles northeast of Quebec City.
"About 31 people are on the list of people that Quebec police are looking for. This is very bad news because they have challenges moving around," said Francois Lapointe, the member of Parliament for the area.
Lapointe said it will take about two or three hours for officials to go through what's left of the gutted building.
Outside the building, Jacques Berube, 70, was getting ready to hear the worst about his 99-year-old mother, who is blind but still mobile.
"I went near the building; the corner where her room was is burned," he said. "I'll just have to wait and see. I don't like it. But I don't have any choice. It's just reality."
About 20 residents had been transported to safety. Quebec Provincial police Sgt. Ann Mathieu urged people who have any information on people considered missing to call police.
Mario Michaud, who lives across the street from the building, said he witnessed the unfolding drama shortly after midnight.
"The fire had started on the second floor. I woke up my girlfriend and called 911. I saw the firefighters and they got to work. A woman on the second floor was shouting and she went out on to the balcony. Her son went to get a ladder but he couldn't get to her. She burned to death," Michaud told local newspaper Info Dimanche.
At least three people were injured in the blaze. The extent of their injuries was unclear.
The building was home to more than 50 people and also housed a social agency, a pharmacy and a hair salon.
The center - the Residence du Havre - opened in 1997. A Quebec Health Department document updated last July said the three-story building, with one elevator, was constructed entirely of wood.
Most residents were older than 75 and 37 of them were older than 85. The building included both single rooms and apartment-style dwellings. The document also indicates the building was only partially fitted with a sprinkler system but did have a fire alarm. There were smoke detectors in every room and in the building itself.
Several fire departments in the region were called in to help extinguish the blaze, which completely destroyed the building.