SAO PAULO, April 26 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 people were killed and several others injured or missing after a fire broke out early Friday morning at a small hotel in southern Brazil, local authorities said.

The fire occurred at a hotel in Porto Alegre, the capital city of Rio Grande do Sul state, and seven people were rescued alive at the scene, most of whom had to be taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, the Globo news network reported, quoting the local fire department.

The hotel had an agreement with the mayor's office of Porto Alegre to function as a boarding house and shelter people in vulnerable situations, but it did not comply with the fire safety regulations, according to the fire department.

State experts have already begun work to determine the origin of the fire in the three-story building, located in the center of Porto Alegre.

"A strange person was seen entering the hotel, so we can't rule out the possibility that the fire was intentional," said Evaldo Rodrigues de Oliveira Junior, civil defense coordinator of Rio Grande do Sul, confirming that the building did not have an emergency fire plan. Enditem

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