Milan, July 7 :Six people have died and more than 80 have been hospitalized as a result of a blaze at a nursing home for elderly in the Italian city of Milan, local media reported Friday.

The Corriere della Sera newspaper reported that fire started around 1:30 a.m. local time (23:30 GMT on Thursday). Six people have died and 81 have been hospitalized, including three of them in critical condition. Another 40 people have been poisoned by the products of combustion.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but firefighters believe it has been an accident, the report said.