A woman has been released under investigation after being arrested following the deaths of three people at a care home in Dorset.

Three residents, two men aged 74 and 91 and an 86-year-old woman, were found dead at Gainsborough Care Home in Swanage on the morning of Wednesday 23 October. Seven others were taken to hospital, according to Dorset Police.

The 60-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. Dorset Police said the arrest was made to enable the police to establish whether there were any actions or omissions that are believed to be grossly negligent, and enquiries will continue into this.

Dorset Police said the deaths were currently being treated as unexplained and possible carbon monoxide poisoning is the primary line of enquiry. Other residents were evacuated to a local church hall as emergency services responded to the incident.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Third, of the Major Crime Investigation Team, said: “We are continuing to gather as much information as possible to give us a full picture of events during the morning of Wednesday 23 October 2024. This involves liaising with experts from partner agencies to understand the circumstances and this work will take some time to be carried out.

“Members of the public can expect to see a large multi-agency presence continue in the area over the coming days to enable us to conduct detailed enquiries. Our local officers will remain in the area to provide support.”

Gainsborough Care Home is run by Agincare. A spokesperson for Gainsborough Care Home said: “An incident involving the care home took place this morning, and we have been closely working with the lead agencies to manage the welfare of all concerned.

“The wellbeing of residents is always our overriding priority, and part of the local business continuity plan was to transfer residents in a managed way to a local village hall and church, where they remain safe and well.

“We appreciate that this is a stressful and worrying time for those involved, and have allocated extra staffing resources to provide support locally. We are contacting and updating residents’ families.

“We will continue to work with the lead local authority services to return residents into their home at the earliest opportunity, and will provide further updates in due course.”