Swanage care home: Woman, 60, arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after three people found dead

A woman has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after three people were found dead at a care home in Swanage.

Dorset Police said it arrested the 60-year-old woman on Wednesday “to enable us to establish whether there was gross negligence and to gather as much information as possible about what happened”.

The deaths at Gainsborough Care Home are currently being treated as “unexplained” and possible carbon monoxide poisoning is the “primary line of inquiry”, police said in an earlier update.

Seven people were taken to hospital ‘as a precaution’ and the building was evacuated.

Police, who were called at 7.16am on Wednesday, said there was no risk to the general public.

A spokesperson for Southern Gas Network confirmed it had been called to Gainsborough Care Home.

The care home, run by Agincare, has 48 residents, all elderly and some with dementia.

All residents were evacuated to a nearby church hall, some were in wheelchairs.

A spokesperson for the care home said it had sent “additional staff” during the incident and said the welfare of residents was the “overriding priority”.

Dorset Council member Gary Suttle said: “Our condolences and sympathies go out to those who lost their lives in this tragic event.”

He thanked locals for coming to the church where people had been evacuated, and brought blankets as a show of “great community support”.

South Western Ambulance Service said it was called to the house in Swanage at 5.20am and sent a hazard response team, 10 ambulances and “a significant number of additional resources”.

A spokeswoman for Southern Gas Network 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 to gain access to the building to complete security checks.

“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragic incident.”

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had sent four crews to Ulwell Road after it was called at 7.47am, with two more crews from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight services also attending.

Group manager Neil Tidball said: “Firefighters are working with Dorset Police, South West Ambulance Service and other partners to resolve this incident.”