Eleven people were killed and 15 others were injured in a fire broke out at a detention center at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport early on Thursday, according to Dutch police.

An airport spokesperson said the fire, which began shortly after midnight and took several hours to bring under control, had no impact on flights.

Police said all the dead were detainees, but could not yet give details of their nationalities.

Fire fighters and airport police were among the injured, Dutch media reported.

The detention complex mainly housed suspected drug traffickers and illegal immigrants, police said.

About 300 people were being detained in the complex at the time of the fire.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2005)