At least two people have died and at least one injured after a fire broke out in the roof structure of a hospital in the northern German town of Ludwigslust early on Thursday, officials and police said.

Officials said one person was injured after inhaling smoke, after initially saying dozens had been injured as a result of the blaze.

The two fatalities were both patients at the facility, regional authorities said, according to Germany's dpa news agency.

What do we know about the fire in Ludwigslust?

The cause of the blaze at the hospital remains unclear.

According to broadcaster NDR, the fire broke out in a room with a patient, spreading to the roof of the radiology department.

It said the fire was now under control.

A spokeswoman for the regional authorities said the fire started in a room in the vascular surgery department.

One patient died in that room and another in the room next to it, she said.

Many patients and staff were evacuated from the facility, which has 160 beds, according to the hospital's website.

Police said traffic near the facility had been considerably disrupted.

The initial reports of dozens of injured were based only on the number of people being medically examined at the scene, who were mostly found to have been unharmed, officials said.

The hospital is the only one in the town.

Ludwigslust is located in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 40 km (25 miles) south of the state capital, Schwerin.

Edited by: Karl Sexton

Don't let the algorithm hide the news. If you rely on our team for trusted reporting, please take a moment to select us as your Preferred Source on Google by clicking here and hitting the "star" or "preferred" button, so you'll always see our verified news first.